Just Coincidence
by MoonlightLotus18
Summary: It's been a year since the city and the Satellite were runited.  Jack, Crow, and Yusei share an apartment in the city and are doing well.  Jack and Crow even have girlfriends.  They also think it's time Yusei stepped out of the garage and found one too.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people of Fanfiction, sorry I've been MIA for a while, I was a POSW (Prisoner of School Work) and still am technically. This is a new story, slightly different from Overcoming the Past. I'm sorry I haven't updated that story in forever, I have a chronic case of writer's block. Well anyway, here's the new story. I'm going to up load the first three chapters becasue the first two are kind of short. So I hope you enjoy this story. Curtains!**

Ch.1- Across the Distance

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you," conceded a girl with dark green hair and blue eyes that were obscured by her thick glasses. She had on a blue and yellow striped long sleeved shirt and blue jeans. "His name was Jack." She sat at a table in a small café with four other girls. All of them were about eighteen years old. One of them had chocolate brown hair and emerald green eyes. She wore a pink tank top and white capris pants. Another had light blue hair and brown eyes; they were dressed in light blue pants and a green halter top. The third had red hair and golden eyes. She wore beige capris pants and a blue tank top. The final girl had long twilight colored hair and light grey eyes. She was dressed in a plain, black, form-fitting, turtle neck shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans.

"As in Jack Atlas?" the red haired girl asked in awe, a hand to her mouth.

"Sara, if Carly's first kiss was with Jack Atlas, then Vaith's first kiss will be with Yusei Fudo," the blue haired girl replied. The girl with twilight hair blushed slightly, the rest of the girls giggled.

"Really Vaith, you've never been kissed before?" asked the brunette as she turned to the girl with twilight hair. The twilight haired girl shook her head.

"Nope," she replied. "Does that come as a surprise to you Clare?"

"Yeah it does," the brunette replied, eyes wide, "It comes as a great surprise."

"You knew, right Carly?" the blue haired girl asked the girl with glasses.

"Yes Jessica, I knew. When she told me I was nearly as surprised as Clare," Carly replied with a laugh.

"But now it's your turn Clare," began Sara, "Who was your first kiss with?" Clare blushed at the memory.

"His name was John," she replied, "Someone I went to school with."

"Aww, that's so sweet," Jessica commented, "How come it didn't last?"

"Because we decided to go our separate ways after high school. He was going to study abroad and become a doctor while I studied to be a dancer. It was a mutual decision."

"And now you have Crow," Sara added with a smile.

"Yup, and I'm happy with that." Clare smiled at the thought of her boyfriend.

"Speaking of boyfriends," Jessica began, "Vaith, we think it's time you got one. You work way too hard and take care of everyone else. We think it's time you found someone to take care of you."

"Right, you can't spend your entire life being single you know," Sara added. "I've already told you I'm not interested right now," Vaith calmly replied, "I'm just not ready to be in a romantic relationship with anyone."

"And why don't you think you're ready?" Carly asked. She was truly concerned for her best friend. She had a tendency to push herself too hard and worry about everyone else before she even thought of doing something for herself. She also spent a lot of time alone, which Carly felt wasn't a good thing.

"Because when you truly love someone, you trust them unconditionally. I don't think I can trust someone that much," Vaith replied with a sigh.

"Because of what happened with your aunt and uncle?" Clare asked gingerly.

"Umhm, I still haven't quite gotten over it." Vaith's friends knew that she was born into the prominent Ishihara family and that the Crowfords were her aunt and uncle. They were aware of a rift between them, but didn't know what had caused it; it wasn't something Vaith liked to talk about.

"You're not going to know for sure unless you try," Jessica stated, "But if you don't feel quite ready yet we'll lay off for a while." Vaith gave her a small smile.

"Thanks."

"But we'll have time to scout out more potential candidates won't we girls?" Jessica asked with a wink.

"Yup," the other three replied with a laugh.

"It'll be no easy task, but we _will _find someone who can make our Vaith grin like a fool," Sara proclaimed. They all laughed.

* * *

On the other side of the city was a garage apartment shared by three boys in their late teens. One of them had spikey, raven black hair streaked with blond; his friends often pointed out how his hair resembled a crab. He had mesmerizingly blue eyes, slightly tanned skin, and a jagged criminal marker on the left side of his face. He sat in front of a computer and wore a black sleeveless shirt with a red design emblazoned on the front, black jeans, and brown, calf-high riding boots. He was running a diagnostic on the three runners parked in the garage; one red, one round and white, the third black and orange.

"Well, are they alright?" asked an eighteen year old male with spikey orange hair, criminal markers under each eye and an 'M' and a dot on his forehead. He wore an orange shirt under a brown sleeveless vest and a pair of green pants. He had on olive green gloves that covered his forearms but exposed his fingers; he also had on a blue headband. His grey eyes were trained on the man with blue eyes.

"They're fine Crow," the blue-eyed youth replied. "But yours is going to need a tune up soon."

"How soon?" Crow asked. He didn't like the thought of giving up his runner for an extended period of time, but if Yusei said it needed a tune up, it probably did.

"Within the month should be fine. It'll take me a few hours, so bring it in any time after you finish working."

"Sure thing," the orange haired youth replied. "What are your plans for the rest of the day?"

"I have to work on Jack's runner. Some things are so out of whack I'm surprised it still runs properly."

"What's wrong with it?" asked a blond male of about nineteen coming down the stairs and into the garage. His eyes were violet and he had a serious expression on his face. He wore a plain black sleeveless shirt covered by a white trench coat. His pants were blue and his boots grey. His gaze was trained on Yusei and Crow.

"Well, the thrusters and engine need a tune up, the battery's worn, the-" Yusei began, but the blond cut him off.

"Nevermind, I don't want to know. But do you have to work on it right now?"

"Yes Jack . If I don't the next time you ride it might be your last," Yusei replied.

"Do you have to work on it right this second?" Jack asked. He wasn't one who got overly sentimental, but Yusei was like a little brother to him, and he worked way too damn hard. He seriously needed to get out more.

"If you want to duel Crow tomorrow, then yes."

"Man, putting it off for a day won't kill you. Besides we can have a ground duel, no biggie," Crow said.

"You spend way too much time in this garage as it is, tuning up our runners, fixing things for other people. The only time you leave the garage is when you have a title match, you're going to visit Martha, or you need to buy some more parts. You seriously need to step out of the garage and get a girlfriend.

"We've been over this before," Yusei said facing his friends, his face in its signature stoic expression, "I'm not interested in dating anyone right now."

"Yeah, that's what Crow said until he might Clare," Jack said with a smirk, "Now he tries to spend as much time with her as he can."

"What we're saying Yusei is that you work too hard and you need to take a break and relax once in a while. And who knows, you might meet someone at that thing Trudge and Mina want us to go to on Friday," said Crow. Yusei sighed.

"You two aren't giving me much of a choice are you?"

"Nope," the two replied in unison.

**Well, that's the end of chapter one. Please read and review, I want to know what you think of this story, just please no flames. I'll upload the next chapter shortly.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's chapter 2. It's coupled with chapter 1 and it makes more sense to upload them together because they're so short. Anyway, please enjoy.**

Ch.2- Party Preparations

"How about this one?" Clare asked holding up a dress that was bottle green.

"I like the color, but the cut doesn't really suit you. It shows too much midrift," Vaith replied. She, Clare, and Carly were dress shopping for a formal gala that was to be held that evening. The gala was being thrown to mark the one year anniversary of the bridge between the city and the Satellite's completion. Clare being as busy as she was, and Carly just being Carly, the two had completely forgotten about it until that morning. As a result, the three of them were doing some last minute dress shopping.

Vaith walked over to a rack by the store window and examined the dresses hanging there. One caught her eye and she removed it from the rack and showed it to Clare.

"Do you like this one?" Clare put the other dress back and walked over to Vaith. She looked at the dress Vaith held in her hands and smiled.

"Vaith, you've done it again." The dress was bottle green, like the other one, but it didn't show any midrift. Instead, it was cut on either side so that it would show off the wearer's legs. The cut stopped about an inch above the knee, and the straps would fit nicely around Clare's shoulders. It was simple, but elegant.

"I don't know how you do it, but you are really god at picking out dresses," Clare said beaming.

"Must be the artist's eye," she replied with a laugh. "Now go try it on." Clare headed to the fitting room just as Carly was coming out.

"Vaith works her magic again," Clare said to Carly, showing her the dress. Carly laughed. This was why they always brought Vaith along with them when they went dress shopping, or shopping for any formal occasion for that matter; she had an incredible eye for detail, incorporated their preferences in color and style, and knew what colors they looked best in. She had as much fun as they did.

Carly found Vaith still by the window looking at dresses. Carly had just tried on a light blue strapless dress. It was very plain, which was why Carly had liked it. She didn't think she could pull off the more elegant evening gowns.

"Well?" Vaith asked as Carly approached. She had an uncanny knack for knowing when people were nearby.

"I like it, but it doesn't fit quite right," she replied.

"Too small or too big?" Vaith turned to look at Carly.

"A bit on the small side."

"Hm, tricky this time around huh? Let's keep looking then." Carly placed the other dress back on the rack it had come from, and resumed searching with Vaith. They were still looking when Clare came back from the fitting room. The two of them looked at Clare expectantly, her face split into a bright smile.

"This is the one," she said holding it up.

"Not too loose or tight?" Vaith asked.

"Nope, it's just right," she replied. "Still trying to find one for Carly?"

"Umhm, she's tricky this time around," Vaith joked looking over at Carly. He face had turned a healthy shade of pink. Vaith and Carly kept looking while Clare went to buy her dress.

"What does your boyfriend like Carly? Does he prefer a specific color or cut?" Carly blushed heavily at the mention of her boyfriend.

"H-he d-doesn't have any preference, at least not that I know of," she replied nervously. She didn't like keeping secrets from Vaith, but when it came to who she was dating, she had to be careful who she told.

"Well, how about this one?" She held up a light blue version of Clare's dress.

"Nah, I couldn't pull of something like that," Carly replied. Vaith placed the dress back on the rack.

"Carly, what do you think of dark blue?"

"I like dark blue," she said looking up from the other dresses.

"Then how about this?" Vaith held up a dark blue dress with straps that wrapped around the neck instead of the shoulders. It wasn't elaborate in anyway, but it would show of the wearer's curves.

"I like it, but do you think I can pull it off?"

"Try it on and we'll see how it looks." Carly took the dress and headed to the fitting room.

"Is she trying on another one?" Clare asked coming back from the checkout counter.

"Yeah. I think the cut and style will work, it's the color I'm unsure of. It may make her look really pale." Vaith searched the rack again and came across a cerulean version of the dress Carly went to try on.

"We'll compare that one to this one," she replied taking the cerulean dress from the rack. Carly came back a few minutes later in the dark blue dress.

"Well, how does it look?" she asked shyly. Vaith and Clare looked her over before responding.

"It fits well; it doesn't look too loose or too tight. And the style fits you very nicely," Clare said, "But the color seems off. You look a little pale." Vaith walked up to Carly and showed her the cerulean dress.

"I like that color better," Carly said pointing to the dress in Vaith's hands. Vaith then held the dress in front of Carly and moved off to the side.

"How's this one Clare?"

"The color is much better," she said cheerfully, "And I think we have a winner, huh Carly?"

"Yup, let me go change real quick." She went to change and was back in a few minutes. She put the dark blue dress back and walked over to Vaith and Clare.

"Alright then," she said, "Now only one dress left to find." She looked directly at Vaith, who sighed.

"I should have known there would be strings attached," she said with a laugh.

"Crow, you look like a Jack-O-Lantern," Jack said with a smirk. Crow wore a white button up shirt, orange tie, black jacket, black pants, and black shoes. With his orange hair he did somewhat resembled a Jack-O-Lantern, but really, he looked more like a candle.

"Shove it Jack," he replied. "I couldn't exactly pull off a white tux like you."

"It's because of your hair," Jack replied. He was dressed in a light blue button up shirt, the top most button undone, a white jacket, blue satin tie, white slacks and white dress shoes. Add in his blonde hair and violet eyes and he was quite dashing. Unfortunately, he looked good and he knew it. Crow glared at him.

"It's natural Jack, I can't help it." Jack snorted and sat on the arm of the couch in Martha's living room. Martha had raised Jack, Crow, and Yusei since they were small and growing up in the rough life of the Satellite. She insisted they get ready at her place so she could get pictures of her boys all cleaned up and ready for the gala. They suspected that it was also to make sure none of them looked ridiculous. Just then a thirteen year old girl entered the living room. She had mahogany colored hair and eyes and was dressed in a Duel Academy uniform.

"Hi Jack, Crow," she greeted them cheerfully. Jack nodded in response.

"Hi Leslie," Crow replied. Leslie looked at Crow in his black tux and orange tie. Honestly, who taught that boy to dress?

"Crow, you look like a Jack-O-Lantern," she said trying to suppress a giggle. Crow groaned and rolled his eyes.

"I give up," he exclaimed throwing his hands in the air. He sat on the couch, away from Jack.

"Just take off the jacket, then it's not so bad," she suggested.

"Never thought of that," he mumbled removing the jacket.

"There, now you don't look like a Jack-O-Lantern," she said with a smile and turned to Jack. "You look sharp in white Jack."

"I know," he replied smugly. Leslie rolled her eyes as Yusei walked into the living room. He donned a white button up shirt, a black jacket, a dark blue satin tie that matched his eyes, black pants, and black dress shoes. The sight of him would make most girls faint. He was incredibly handsome in his suit and tie, albeit uncomfortable as though he weren't use to that kind of thing. He also had a mysterious kind of charm about him.

"Hi Yusei," Leslie greeted.

"Hello Leslie," he replied. He noticed Crow's jacket on the arm of the couch Jack wasn't sitting on. "It's better that you leave the jacket off Crow. With it on you look like a…" he didn't get to say what Crow looked like before Crow groaned.

"Enough of the Jack-O-Lantern remarks," he moaned. Yusei arched an eyebrow.

"I was going to say you looked like a candle with the jacket on, not a Jack-O-Lantern." Jack and Leslie laughed.

"Did I miss something?"

"Before you came in, Jack and I both said he looked like a Jack-O-Lantern when he wore the jacket," Leslie said through her laughter.

"I can't help the fact that my hair is bright orange," Crow grunted just as Martha walked into the room. She was dressed in her normal red dress, had dark skin, hair, and eyes. She looked absolutely delighted to see the three of them.

"The three of you look simply dashing," she said. "Jack, I like the white suit."

"Thanks."

"Now stand up you three so I can take a picture," she said. Yusei, Jack, and Crow stood in front of the couch. Jack was on the left, Crow in the middle, Yusei on the right. Martha took several pictures, one of which Crow had a hand on Jack and Yusei's shoulders and was grinning like a fool. Jack wore his signature smirk and Yusei showed a small upturn in his lips.

"I can't believe how much you three have grown. It seems like only yesterday you three were running around this house getting into all kinds of trouble," Martha commented as she snapped one last picture. "And to think that Jack and Crow have girlfriends."

"Yusei would have a girlfriend too if he didn't work so damn much," Jack remarked. Yusei just shook his head. It was quite obvious by now that Jack had a big brother complex.

"He does have a point," Leslie agreed.

"You never change do you?" Martha asked, "I'm beginning to think the words 'relax' and 'fun' aren't in that vast vocabulary of yours. But really Yusei, if hear that you're working yourself too hard, I will personally chain you to the couch." The others laughed, because they knew Martha was entirely serious and would follow through on her threat. She hugged each of them as they made their way to leave.

"Yusei try to lighten up just a little and enjoy yourself tonight," Leslie said as they all mounted their runners parked outside. "It'll do you a world of good."

"I'll try," Yusei replied.

"Jack and Crow, you two behave yourselves. You don't want to know what I'll do to you if I hear that you two were a problem," Martha warned.

"Why isn't Yusei included in that threat?" Crow asked.

"Because Yusei isn't a troublemaker," Martha replied sternly. Crow sighed. Even after all the years since they left Martha's, she still treated them like her own sons, though it wasn't always for the better, at least in Crow's opinion.

"Fine, we will." They gave one last goodbye to Leslie and Martha then drove off into the falling night.


	3. Chapter 3

**This chapter is pretty heft in length. This is where things start to happen so I thought I would upload it with one and two. Please enjoy the story.**

Ch.3- Tears of Silver

"Look at all the people," Carly said in awe. She looked great in her cerulean dress. She wasn't very keen on over-accessorizing so she wasn't wearing much of anything in the way of jewelry. But she did were blue half inch heels. Vaith and Clare knew she was clumsy under normal circumstances, so they felt it was better not to push their luck, so the smaller the heel on her shoes the better.

"What did you expect Carly?" Clare asked. In addition to her bottle green dress, she wore green heels that exposed her toes and white gloves that went up past her elbows.

"I'm not sure, but definitely not this many people," she replied. The ballroom was full of people: company CEOs who had contributed to the bridge project, those who had worked on the design, the laborers who had actually constructed the bridge, the engineers, the architects, those who were in charge of security while the bridge was under construction, and specially invited guests. The place was packed. The two of them stood out in the main lobby waiting for Vaith, but could see inside the set of large doors that led to the ballroom.

"The gala's being thrown by the Public Security Bureau, so of course there's going to be a lot of people. We all know how they like to do things," Vaith said as she walked over to her two friends. The two of them turned to look at her, and she looked absolutely stunning. She wore a white gown that fell just past her knees and flowed as she walked. The gown hugged her curves and had sleeves that just covered her shoulders. The gown was complimented by Vaith's white one inch heels and the silver owl pendant around her neck. She seemed to glow.

Carly and Clare had picked the dress, knowing Vaith would go for something plain and simple. She wasn't one to show off but Clare and Carly felt she could pull off something elegant. They picked white because it accentuated her twilight hair, giving her and almost ethereal look, and it went well with her light complexion, giving her that serene glow.

"You look amazing," Carly said with a smile. Vaith cheeks turned pink.  
"Yeah, I really like what you've done with you hair," Clare added. Vaith's hair was folded up on the back of her head and held in place by a barrette with a lotus flower decoration. She blushed more deeply at Clare's comment.

"Don't be so modest. You look great and you should show it off once in a while," Clare said.

"Easy for you to say," Vaith replied. Together the three of them walked into the ballroom. The room was large, very large; it had to be if people didn't want to be packed in like sardines. Chandeliers hung from the high ceilings, and cast a golden light into the room in addition to the normal lighting fixtures. Small, round tables were set up periodically throughout the room, bearing drinks and refreshments for the guests.

"I'm going to find Zen. I'll catch up to you guys later okay?"

"Sure Vaith, we'll wait for you," Carly replied. Vaith nodded and went to find her godfather. Carly and Clare wandered through the room until they came across a table that wasn't occupied. It was near the back of the ballroom and off to the left. Having spent most of the afternoon looking for dresses and then getting ready for the gala, the girls hadn't had time to eat; and they were starving.

"Look at all this," Carly said in amazement of all the different food spread out on the table top. "I don't know what half of this stuff is."

"Me either," Clare replied. From the table Clare grabbed a bottle of water for herself and one for Carly. There were glasses already filled and set out on the various tables in the room, but they contained different varieties of champagne and wine; neither Carly no Clare was of legal age to drink.

"They could have considered the fact that there would be people underage attending this thing and supplied more than just water as alternate beverages," Carly complained.

"Yeah, you'd prefer a chocolate milkshake wouldn't you?" a gruff voice asked from behind Carly. Both girls tuned to see who had spoken, and their eyes met with a tall, blond man in a crisp white suit.

"Jack," the two exclaimed in unison.

"Who else?" he replied in his typical offhand manner, though he did pull Carly into a hug. "You look great in that dress," he whispered in her ear. She blushed furiously.

"Th-th-thanks Jack, but Vaith picked it out," she stammered breaking out of the hug. Jack chuckled at her reaction then spun her around so her back was to him. He then took hold of her hands with his and wrapped them around her small body.

"Either way, you look great," he said. He then looked at Clare. "By the way, I don't know where Crow got to. He was right behind me until a moment ago."

"It's okay," Clare replied with a smile, "He'll turn up even-" She never got to finish her sentence before someone came up behind her and wrapped their arms around her waist.

"Hello gorgeous," a familiar voice said as he pulled Clare against his chest. "I like the outfit. It makes you more beautiful than you already are." He pressed his cheek into her hair.

"Hello to you too Crow," she said, "And thank you for the compliment, but credit belongs to Vaith. She picked it out."

"Either way, you look good." He spun her around and pulled her into a tight embrace. She noted that he wasn't wearing a jacket, just a white button up, an orange tie, and black pants and shoes. Jack started chuckling, and Carly, being quite a bit shorter than him, looked up.

"What's so funny Jack?" she asked curiously.

"Jack-O-Lantern," he replied simply. Carly and Clare both looked at him in confusion. Crow glared at him.

"Jack, shut up about the Jack-O-Lantern thing will ya?"

"What's this about a Jack-O-Lantern?" Clare asked, completely perplexed. Crow sighed.

"When I had the suit jacket on Jack said I looked like a Jack-O-Lantern because the suit was black and my hair is orange." The girls giggled. Crow sighed again, he just couldn't win.

"Anyway, do we have a trio of lovely ladies or is it just you two?" Crow asked in a not so subtle effort to change the subject.

"It's a trio tonight; we actually convinced Vaith to come along," Carly said cheerfully. "She's around here somewhere talking to her godfather."

"And what about you guys? Are we blessed by the presence of the heroic trio, or is it only the dynamic duo?" Clare asked with a giggle.

"Actually, tonight, it's a trio. We actually managed to drag Yusei out of the garage," Jack replied. "It wasn't easy but we finally did. He's around talking to Trudge and Mina." The two couples spent the next few minutes swapping news and just catching up.

"Hey, I see Vaith," Clare said pointing toward the main entrance to the ballroom. There were doors along three of the walls; the main entrance was a large set of oak double doors and other, smaller doors were spread out along the other two walls, leading to the corridors. The remaining wall had ceiling high windows that allowed the party goers to glimpse the expansive courtyard outside.

"Which one is she?" Jack asked looking down at Carly who was leaning her back against his broad chest.

"The one in white," she replied. She was more than a little nervous about having Vaith meet Jack. She wasn't sure how Vaith would react, or how Jack would react to her for that matter. So, yeah, she was a tad nervous. A moment later Vaith spotted Carly and Clare and waved.

"That one?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, that's Vaith," Crow replied returning Vaith's wave. She made her way through the crowd, which seemed to part for her, and over to the others. She had a calm expression on her face, but her cheeks were tinged pink.

"Hi guys," she said, "It's nice to see you Crow."

"Nice to see you too, love the dress by the way." Vaith's face turned a darker shade of pink as she turned to Jack.

"You must be Carly's boyfriend," she said politely. "It's nice to finally meet you." She gave a shy smile and a small bow. _Well_, Carly thought,_ so far so good. She doesn't even look the least bit surprised, but then again, does she ever?_

"Likewise," Jack replied. "Carly and Clare talk about you often as does Crow. It's nice to finally put a face to the name."

"And such a beautiful face." A man who looked twenty-one, had short brown hair, blue eyes, and was wearing a black tux and red tie, wrapped his arms around Vaith and buried his face in her hair. Crow, Carly, and Clare didn't look happy to see him at all. Vaith just sighed.

"Kevin, how many times have I told you not to do that?" she asked.

"Relax," he said, "Besides, I need to talk to you and it was the only way to get your attention." He spoke as if only Vaith were there.

"You could have called her name like a normal person," Clare said flatly. Kevin looked up at her, noticing her for the first time. He also noticed Carly, Jack, and Crow.

"She never would have heard me in this crowd."

"And that's a good thing," Crow said in the same flat tone Clare had used. He also looked at Kevin with a cold glare. Kevin didn't bother to reply, he just fixed Crow with a look of disgust.

"What is it you need to talk to me about Kevin?" Vaith asked acutely aware of the rapidly growing tension in the air.

"About a project," he replied. Vaith sighed.

"Which one?"

"The museum project."

"Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"No, so if you'll excuse Vaith for a little while," he gave Crow one last glare and to Jack, much to his surprise, before he let go of Vaith's waist and took hold of her hand. "We'll be going." With that he dragged Vaith off, her protesting all the way.

"Kevin come on, let go. Kevin!" The others could do nothing but watch as he dragged her through one of the smaller doors.

"What was that guy's problem?" Jack asked irritated. He didn't care if people glared at him so long as he knew why they were glaring. But Kevin had really rubbed him the wrong way.

"That was Kevin," Crow said with undisguised disgust. "He's one of Vaith's coworkers and is a total asshole."

"I'll agree with you on that one Crow. I really don't like that guy's attitude," Jack replied narrowing his eyes.

"Neither do any of us," Carly added. She turned around and buried her face in Jack's chest. He was surprised by the sudden contact, but wrapped his arms around her anyway.

"What's got you so upset?" he asked. She clenched her fists in the back of his jacket.

"Kevin. He won't leave Vaith alone." Jack raised an eyebrow.

"You see Jack," Clare began, "Kevin is Vaith's coworker but he wants to be her boyfriend. And no matter how many times she tells him no, he doesn't listen. He also glares at any guy who comes within ten feet of her so guys are afraid to approach her. They don't Kevin on their backs." She leaned back into Crow's arms; he pressed his cheek to hers.

"And heaven forbid that any man other than him should talk to her," Crow spat. "Bastard."

"Why doesn't she do something, complain?" Jack asked.

"Because she can't prove it and he's not harassing her," Carly replied.

"I think repeatedly asking someone out who is obviously not interested qualifies as harassment."

"He doesn't do it at work. Sometimes he'll catch her after class or while she's at lunch. And he does it sporadically enough where she can't say he's stalking her," Clare replied. "He's a major factor in why she doesn't get out more; because of him she's shy around men."

"She didn't seem shy to me," commented Jack.

"She was being very formal," Carly said, "That's what she does when she feels shy or nervous around new people. She still does it to Crow sometimes."

"Is it okay to let her be alone with him then?"

"For now. Her godfather and their boss are here, so he won't try to pull anything," Carly said. A thick silence hung in the air for a few moments.

"Well that put a serious damper on the mood," Clare complained.

"Tell me about it," Crow agreed.

Later that evening a drawing of the bridge was presented in commemoration of the bridge's completion. It was a breathtaking drawing. The bridge spanned the gap between the city and the Satellite with the setting sun lighting the water and the edifices of the buildings in a fiery orange light. The picture was going to be displayed in the New Domino Art Museum.

After the ceremony Carly, Clare, Jack, Crow, and Yusei, who had joined them shortly after Vaith had left with Kevin, stood around chatting.

"So Yusei, see anyone that catches your eye?" Crow asked with a grin on his face. They were standing off to one side of them room, a table not too far in front of them. Yusei, who was leaning against the wall, shook his head.

"No Crow I haven't." The entire evening girls had been coming up to him and commenting on how handsome he looked in his tuxedo, how gorgeous he and his eyes were, what a great duelist he was, and other such trivial things. They were just excuses to Yusei, excuses to talk to him and hit on him. The only response he gave them was a 'thank you' and a polite smile. He knew they didn't really have any feelings for him or care who he was as a person; they just wanted to have the right to brag about being the current duel champion's girlfriend. And that was why he spent so much time in the garage, to get away from all the publicity and people who didn't really care.

"Are you even looking," Crow asked frowning slightly.

"Crow give him a break. You can't expect him to meet someone and fall in love all in one night," Clare said laying her head on his shoulder.

"No, but you'd think he could find at least one girl he was interested in," he replied.

_Not when they all seem the same_, Yusei thought. He knew Jack and Crow were concerned for his well-being and he understood that he did need to take a break once in a while, but he couldn't understand how they were so blind to the fact of how difficult it was for him to find someone who saw him for who he was instead of what he was; to find someone who saw him as just a regular guy what was good at duel monsters, good with his hands, good with computers, and a guy who was just plain lonely and struggling, instead of seeing only the duel monsters champion or a guy with a pretty face.

"Just give him some time Crow," Carly said, "Yusei's not exactly the outgoing type."

"Carly's got a point Crow, though she put it mildly. He's never been very good at interacting with women. And he's usually so reserved that he seems standoffish. He also hardly lets people know just how he feels," Jack added.

"Guys, I'm right here," Yusei said his eyebrows slightly raised and his arms folded across his chest. He wasn't angry, just incredibly uncomfortable. He always felt that way at big, fancy things like this.

"Sorry," Crow said and they laughed. Then Yusei spotted a blond in a blue dress making her way towards them. Yusei sighed and pushed himself off the wall.

"I'm gonna go get some air guys," he said heading for the door to his right. It opened up into a dimly lit corridor that led to the lobby in one direction and opened into the courtyard in the other.

Events like this always made him feel this way; uncomfortable and struggling to breathe. So stepping out into the courtyard was a relief. The night air was cool against his face and felt good in his lungs. He relaxed a little bit and started to wander about the courtyard. The pathways were cobble stone and hedges about eight feet tall spanned out in every direction creating a labyrinth that was easy to get lost in. But that was what he needed right now, to just lose himself in his thoughts and the quiet that engulfed the courtyard. The courtyard was lit only by the light of the full moon that hung in the sky, surrounded by the twinkling stars. It didn't matter to him if he got lost in here, so long as he got away from that suffocating atmosphere. The others could come find him later. He continued to wander aimlessly through the courtyard maze thinking about not much at all.

In the center of the courtyard maze was a large circular clearing with a fountain placed in the direct center. Stone benches were stationed along the hedges between the paths leading to the center. Standing near the fountain were Vaith and Kevin.

"Is that all you needed to talk to me about?" Vaith asked. She was eager to get back to her friends; she didn't like being with Kevin, not since he started trying to get her to date him. He always made her uneasy.

"About the project yes, but there are a few other things I wanted to talk to you about," Kevin replied. He was facing Vaith and stood only a few feet from her.

"Like what?"

"Like the fact you look stunningly and absolutely beautiful in the moonlight," he said with a smirk. He was lying, but he was trying to flatter her. In the silvery-white light of the moon her light grey eyes looked silver, her white gown and light skin seemed to glow like the moon itself, but the most amazing feature of here appearance was her hair. The twilight colored faded in the light of the moon and instead shimmered like moonlight itself.

"You look like a modern day goddess of the moon," he continued. Vaith's cheeks turned slightly pink. Kevin chuckled and took a few steps toward her. He now stood less than a foot away from her, the top of her head reaching just below his nose.

"I do have one complaint thought," he said lowering his voice. Vaith looked at him, her cheeks still pink. She was starting to get nervous, due to his close proximity to her. "I prefer your hair when it's down." He reached behind her head, and before she could react, slipped the barrette out of her hair. Free of its prison, her hair came cascading down in a silvery waterfall. It fell passed her shoulders, some of it fell in front of her shoulders, and gently framed her face. She was startled by Kevin's actions.

"Kevin, why'd you do that?" she asked her voice wavering a bit.

"I already told you, I like your hair better when it's down." He still held the lotus barrette in his hand.

"Give it back," she said firmly, holding out her hand.

"Not until you listen to what I have to say," he replied calmly. He loved being alone with her. He made sure he was the only one who saw her when she wasn't her usually calm and collected self. But right now he couldn't enjoy it as much as he would like, there was business to deal with. After he dealt with that he could he enjoy himself.

"What is it Kevin?" she asked in a resigned tone; there was no way she was leaving without her barrette.

"I don't think you should hang out with those friends of yours anymore," he stated. Vaith's eyes widened in surprise.

"Why not?"

"Because they're Satellites or associate with Satellites."

"Why does that matter?"

"Because people from the Satellite and those who associate with them are dangerous. They will only try to take advantage of you. I saw the way those two looked at you earlier."

"Kevin that's ridiculous, you don't even know them."

"I don't have to. All Satellites are the same and you're better off not dealing with them." Vaith couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kevin had been like a brother to her when she first started working at the company but lately he had changed and was trying to tell her who she could and could not be friends with. Frankly, she was hurt.

"How can you say that? You're acting as if people from the Satellite aren't even human."

"Vaith, they're almost animals. They could never fit into society. They don't know what it means to truly love someone, the way I love you. They think only of themselves and immediate gratification." Vaith was horrified. Not only did Kevin not know her friends, but he was making all kinds of ridiculous assumptions about them. Kevin saw the hurt look on her face, but misinterpreted it.

"I know it's going to be hard, but it's for your own good." Now that he'd gotten that out of the way he could enjoy his alone time with Vaith.

"Give it back," she said her voice devoid of any emotion. "You said I had to listen to you and I have, now give it back." A mischievous grin spread across Kevin's face.

"I'll give it back only after you give me a kiss," he said with a smirk. Vaith's eyes bulged at the absurd and rather childish request.

"What?"

"I'll give you back your barrette only if you kiss me," he replied. He still stood less than a foot away from her and held the barrette in his left hand. He thought Vaith's reaction was absolutely adorable, and made him desire her kiss even more.

"Come on Vaith, it's simple: You kiss me, you get your barrette back."

"No Kevin. This is ridiculous, just please give it back," she pleaded. He shook his head.

"Not until you kiss me."

"Kevin, why don't you understand that I don't have any romantic feelings for you? No matter how many times I tell you 'no' you keep asking. And now your- Kevin!" He slipped his right arm under her arm and was now pulling her against his body. She didn't like it one bit. She didn't like being this close to people under normal circumstances, so being this close to Kevin while they were completely alone and while he wanted to kiss her was horrifying.

Her body was pressed against his, her hands resting on his chest. His hand had been between her shoulders, but now it was behind her head, tilting it upwards.

"It's just one kiss Vaith," he said huskily. His face was mere inches from hers. In a moment of panic she shoved him with all her might.

"NO!" She stumbled backwards a step or two but Kevin, his center of gravity being higher than her's, toppled backwards. He landed on his back, the force of the impact causing him to release the barrette. It skid across the cobble stones and stopped a few feet away. He never saw or heard Vaith move, but when he got to his feet all he saw was that the barrette was gone and Vaith running off into the maze, her heels clacking on the stone pathway.

Vaith kept running, all she wanted was to get as far away from Kevin as she could. This time he had taken things too far and she wasn't sure if the damage could be reversed.

She had no clear idea of where she was going, she just kept running. It felt good; the night air pressing against her face, pushing away her thoughts. She didn't want to think about anything at that moment, she just wanted to get away. But she had to stop eventually. She slowed down and found herself in another, albeit smaller, clearing. She sat down on one of the benches. In this clearing there were only two benches, each one directly across from one of the pathways into the clearing.

She held her barrette in her hands and began to cry, just letting the tears fall. She couldn't take it, it was just too much. Didn't he see how lonely she was? How much pain she was in? Didn't he understand she didn't think of him that way? Of course not, she never let anyone see how much she struggled, how much she hurt. She didn't want her friends to worry and she didn't want to burden them with her problems. She didn't cry in front of anyone, not even Zenreese; she had cried in front of her own father only once. But now she couldn't stop the tears, they just kept falling silently onto the lotus decoration of her barrette. Was she destined to spend the rest of her life alone? As if on cue, she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, are you alright?" The voice was familiar, but Vaith couldn't place it; she was too upset. She looked up and her tear ridden eyes were met by the concerned face of Yusei Fudo. Taking notice of her tears Yusei realized she was far from alright. He sat next to her on the bench, his body angled towards her.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He had no idea who this girl was but being the way he was, he couldn't just leaver her like that.

"I got into a fight with one of my co-workers," she replied quietly. She averted her eyes in an effort to hide her tears.

"Are you hurt?" She shook her head.

"Not physically no." He saw more tears fall from her face; they looked silver in the moon's light. He'd be lying if he said she didn't look beautiful in the moonlight, despite her tears, but right now that wasn't what was important.

"Can I ask you something?" She looked back at him as a way of giving him her permission. "Your name?"

"Vaith, Vaith Ishihara." At that moment several things clicked together, one of them being who she had just fought with.

_So this is who Carly, Clare, and Crow talk about so often._ He saw tears still tumble down her face. He pulled the dark blue satin handkerchief from his breast pocket and gently placed his left hand on her wet cheek; she visibly cringed at the contact.

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently. He then used the handkerchief to dry her other cheek, gently pressing it against her damp skin. Her other cheek felt cool, but he dismissed it as a result of her tears. This time she didn't try to pull away from him, which was good, but what surprised him was that she seemed to relax and lean into his touch, letting the tears fall, no longer trying to hide them. Her reaction made him inexplicably glad, there was no reason for it, but he was glad she was opening up to him.

"What did Kevin do that upset you so much?" he asked breaking the silence that had fallen between them. She took a deep breath and met Yusei's eyes. There he could see how much pain she was in, how alone she felt.

"He was acting the way he usually does, at least lately," she began, "He took my barrette out of my hair and started commenting on how beautiful he thought I looked in the moonlight. I asked him to give me back my barrette but he said he'd give it back only after I listened to what he had to say." Yusei listened intently to her story and disliked this Kevin more and more, and he'd never met the guy. Something about the way Vaith described him give Yusei the impression that he wasn't such a nice guy.

"Then what?" he asked placing his right hand on her dry cheek. He then proceeded to dry her other cheek with the handkerchief.

"I said I'd listen, then he started going on about how I shouldn't be friends with anyone from the Satellite." Yusei froze. "He said they're dangerous as if all people from the Satellite were the same. I was horrified and didn't know what to say. I asked him again for my barrette but he said he wouldn't give it back unless I kissed him." Fresh tears welled up in her eyes. She closed her eyes and began to sob. Now Yusei really didn't like this guy. He could deal with the fact they he didn't like Satellites, though he didn't agree with it, but trying to control who another person was friends with and then trying to force someone to kiss you? That was low.

_This guy is a piece of work_, Yusei thought bitterly.

"When I refused he pulled me close to him and tried to kiss me. I shoved him away and he dropped my barrette as he fell. I grabbed it and ran." She lowered her eyes and continued to sob. Yusei took his hand from her cheek, placing the handkerchief on his knee, and wrapped it around her shoulders, his other hand falling to her waist, and he pulled her close. She offered no resistance. Yusei figured she was too upset to care at the moment, and really needed someone to be there for her. He was only too happy to oblige.

"How long has Kevin been doing this to you?" he asked softly.

"For about seven months now," she replied. She laid her head on his shoulder, her hands resting on his chest, and allowed him to hold her. Under normal circumstances she wouldn't allow someone to get so close, unless it was Zen, Carly, or Clare. But circumstances were far from normal and Yusei made it so easy to open up, so easy to let it all out. She didn't open up to people easily, but Yusei was different. She didn't know how or why, but she felt herself opening up to him.

"Seven months is a long time to hold back your tears," he said. He took his hand from her waist and wiped away the unfallen tears with his thumb.

"I didn't want to make Carly and Clare worry; they've got enough to deal with already. I don't want to add to their problems." He was doing it again, getting her to show him glimpses of her heart without much effort; it must've been his gentle nature.

"So you chose to suffer alone," he said quietly. He wiped away more of her tears. His hands were warm, a little callous around the finger tips but the rest of his hand was soft. She felt safe in his arms, which were also warm. She had a feeling she could trust him.

Her tears finally began to subside and she lifted her head, Yusei unwrapped his arm from her shoulders and used both hands to wipe away the remaining tears.

"Better?" he asked. She nodded. He gave her a small smile.

"Good." A silence fell between them, and though they just met it didn't feel awkward. He looked up at the clear night sky, admiring the moon and the stars.

"There's something I've been wondering," Yusei said finally, returning his gaze to Vaith. She returned his look, showing he had her attention. "Of all the times Carly, Crow, and Clare have mentioned you, they never once said your hair was the color of moonlight. They always said it was twilight colored." Vaith managed a meek smile.

"It is it just looks silver in the moonlight as do my eyes. The same thing happens in the snow." Yusei wasn't sure what to make of that, but thought she looked beautiful in the moonlight regardless. He'd be a fool to deny it.

"I've been wondering something myself," she said looking up at the night sky.

"What's that?" She returned her gaze to his face.

"What were you doing in the courtyard before you found me?" she asked shyly. Yusei had completely forgotten why he came outside when he found Vaith, but it all came flooding back.

"I was getting some air," he replied solemnly. "Jack and Crow thought it would do me some good to get out of the garage for a night and convinced me to come to the gala with them." He heaved a heavy sigh.

"And you felt like you were suffocating," Vaith finished for him. He looked at her in surprise.

"How'd you know?" Vaith sighed this time.

"I know the feeling. I feel that way when I'm at big things like this; or when I'm with Kevin. People don't see you for who you are but for what you are. In your case they see the current duel monsters champion; in my case they see a member of a wealthy family; or in both our cases, a pretty face with a good name. And all the comments they make are so empty. It's obvious what they want and they don't care really care about you. They just want something from you so that they can gain something, status, fame, privilege, or something of the like. It eventually becomes too much and you feel like you're drowning."

"Yeah, that's about it," Yusei replied, "And the fact that your friends don't understand how difficult it is for you to open up to someone."

"It's hard to find someone when no one sees you," Vaith added. Yusei nodded his agreement and noticed that Vaith still held her barrette.

"May I see your barrette?" She handed it to him, a perplexed expression on her moonlit face. Yusei took it and moved a little closer. She closed her eyes and shrank back.

"It's okay," he said softly, "I'm not going to pull anything." She felt something lightly tug on her hair then heard a soft click. She opened her eyes and saw that Yusei was smiling slightly. He had put the barrette back in her hair; it held the bangs on the right side out of her face.

"I don't know how you had it before, but it looks good there." She looked at him for a moment, then hugged him. He was slightly surprised but returned the embrace, once again wrapping on arm around her shoulders and the other around her waist. He knew without asking that it meant a lot, not just the barrette but the gesture too. As he held her his fingers traced the skin of her shoulders.

"Vaith, how long have you been out here?"

"I'm not sure, but at least a couple of hours," she replied.

"I think it's time we get you inside, you skin is freezing cold." He shrugged off his suit jacket and put it around her.

"What about you?" she asked guiltily; she didn't want him to freeze because he was being kind to her.

"I'll be fine, I'm wearing long sleeves. You on the other hand can barely say you have sleeves at all.'

"Alright then," she resigned.

"Come on then," he said standing, "Let's get you inside where it's warm." He held his hand out to her. She took it and he helped her to her feet. He put an arm around her shoulders and they began walking.

It was Vaith who got them out of the maze, as she knew her way around. It took them about twenty minutes to get back to the entrance and into the corridor. If Yusei had been leading who knows how long it would have taken. Once they were back inside Vaith returned Yusei's jacket. He put it back on.

"Thank you Yusei," she said shyly, a blush lightly tinting her cheeks. "Thank you for being there for me, I must've looked pretty pathetic."

"Everyone has a right to cry when they're in pain," he replied. "And don't mention it." _I just hope I get to see you again after tonight._ Then Vaith did something unexpected. She stepped closer to Yusei and placed a hand on his right cheek and the other on over his now rapidly beating heart. Being only an inch, inch and a half shorter than him put her at the perfect height to reach his face, and she gently kissed his left cheek, careful to avoid his marker.

"Thank you," she said again, but this time she whispered it in his ear. With that she walked back into the ballroom, leaving Yusei dumbstruck in the corridor. He couldn't believe what had just happened. Under ordinary circumstances he would've never let something like that happen, but tonight seemed to be full of extraordinary circumstances; and he had a feeling Vaith wouldn't go bragging about it. He also knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that she was sincere. He lightly touched his cheek. His skin was still cool to the touch from being outside, but the place where her lips had been a moment before was warm.

"You're welcome," he murmured. Well it looked like he finally found someone who caught his interest. But it was just coincidence that it was Vaith Ishihara. Wasn't it?

**Okay, here is the end of chapter three. I have the next two or three chapters already typed out, they just need to be polished. Please read and review and if it isn't too much trouble to you, I would appreciate suggestions for Overcoming the Past so I can get over my writer's block. Thank you for taking the time to read this. It is appreciated.**


	4. Chapter 4

**This is chapter four. It's kind of lengthy, just a warning. So what is going through Vaith and Yusei's minds after the events of Friday night? Read on and find out. ****Oh, before I forget, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5d's but I do own Vaith, Leslie, Clare, Kevin and the plot line.**

Ch. 4- Space Cadet

It was a beautiful afternoon in New Domino city; the sun was shining, a breeze gently whispered through foliage, and it was a pleasant seventy-five degrees or so, a little warm for early fall, but not abnormally so.

Vaith sat on a bench in New Domino Park enjoying the weather. It had been a few days since the gala and Vaith still didn't understand why she had kissed Yusei's cheek. It was a spur of the moment thing; it just happened.

_I hope he doesn't think badly of me because of it_, she thought._ But there was something about him, something different. He understood the pain I was in, the loneliness I feel. He made it so easy to open up. Maybe it's just because I needed to vent and he just happened to be there. But his touch was so gentle, comforting; and his hands were soft and warm. His arms were comforting and strong. He really cared if I was alright. Wait, what's wrong with me?_ She blushed at her thoughts of Yusei. She'd never thought of another person, let alone a male, that way. She felt an odd connection to him; she wouldn't say it was attraction, more like camaraderie. They understood each other's pain that was all. It was just coincidence that she'd been found and comforted by Yusei Fudo, wasn't it? The sound of voices pulled her from her musings.

"Leo, are you alright?" a brunette girl with mahogany eyes asked a boy with turquoise hair and wheat colored eyes. They were along the path that led through the park and were accompanied by two other kids, another boy and girl. The girl had turquoise hair and wheat-colored eyes just like Leo's, and her hair was in pig tails. The boy had red curly hair and grey eyes. The four looked to be about thirteen and they all wore Duel Academy uniforms. Leo was picking himself up off the ground and the other three were looking at him.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said with a grin, then he winced. "Ow, ow."

"Leo, you're bleeding," the brunette said concerned. Leo looked down at his arm and saw crimson had soiled his blue blazer. His eyes widened in the realization that the brunette was right, he was bleeding. He pushed back his sleeve, which he realized had a long tear in it, to reveal his injury.

"Leo, what did you do?" asked the girl who looked to be his twin. She walked over and gently took his arm looking at the cut that went a ways up his forearm.

"I think I hit a piece of glass when I fell because it tore my jacket too." The other two walked over and looked at Leo's arm.

"You might want to get that looked at," said the red head, "You might need stitches."

"Are you guys alright?" The four turned their heads to see a twilight haired girl coming toward them. Vaith hadn't seen the boy fall, but she saw him getting up and heard that he might have hit a piece of glass.

"My brother just fell on a piece of glass," said the turquoise haired girl. Vaith reached them and knelt down so she was on their level.

"May I see it?" Leo extended his right arm so Vaith could see his arm. She looked at him then slipped a blue bag from her shoulders; from it she pulled a first aid kit.

"You carry one of those around?" Leo asked.

"It's a force of habit," Vaith replied. "I'm just going to clean it and bandage it up. That should do until you can get a doctor to look at it." She took a gauze pad from the first aid kit and mopped up the excess blood. She then pulled out a clean pad and hydrogen peroxide.

"This is going to sting," she warned Leo. She poured a small amount of H2O2 on the gauze pad and dabbed at Leo's arm. He winced and clenched his fists to keep from crying out. She finished with that and dried off his arm. More blood began oozing from the open wound. She placed a clean gauze pad over the wound then wrapped it up in a bandaged and taped the ends down.

"There," she said when she was finished, "All done. I'd get it looked at soon if I were you."

"Do you think he'll need stitches?" the brunette asked.

"I don't think so, but I'm not a doctor. So I'd get it looked at just in case."

"Thank you…" Leo began, implicitly asking for her name.

"Vaith," she replied with a slight smile.

"Thanks Vaith. My name's Leo by the way. Luna here is my twin sister." He gestured in the direction of his sister who smiled.

"Hello," she said.

"I'm Leslie,' the brunette said.

"And I'm Rally," the red haired boy said.

"It's nice to meet you guys," Vaith replied.

"Well, we better get to the garage so one of the guys can take you to get that looked at Leo," Leslie said.

"Right, bye Vaith."

"See you guys, and be careful." The four kids waved and continued on their way.

* * *

"Yusei, Jack, Crow, you guys home?" Leslie called as she, Leo, Luna, and Rally entered the garage.

"Yeah, we're home," Crow replied. He was lounging on the couch, Jack right next to him.

"Where's Yusei?" Rally asked, scanning the room for the current duel monsters champion.

"And hello to you too," Jack huffed.

"I only asked because he's usually here. I mean he like, never leaves the garage," Rally argued.

"Hello Jack, Crow," the twins chimed reaching the bottom of the ramp the used to enter and exit the garage.

"Hi Leo, Luna, Leslie," Jack replied. Rally rolled his eyes.

"Hi guys," Crow said.

"No one answered my question," Rally said, slightly irritated.

"And what was that?" a familiar voice asked. Rally turned his head in the direction of the three runners parked in the garage. Yusei had been kneeling beside Crow's runner and was thus hidden from view; he stood up when I noticed the kids had come in. An ear bud was hanging out of one ear.

"Where you were," Rally replied.

"I'm working on Crow's runner," Yusei said. "I was kneeling beside it when you came in."

"You'd think you'd still be able to see part of his spikey, crab-shaped hair," Jack said.

"Enough about my hair Jack," Yusei replied.

"Do any of you have some free time?" Leslie asked, before Jack started talking again.

"Something wrong?" Crow asked in return.

"Leo tripped and fell when we were walking through the park on our way here, and he cut his arm on a piece of glass," Luna replied. Yusei wiped the grease off his hands using a rag and walked over to the four thirteen year olds. He knelt in front of Leo.

"Let me see it," he said gently. Leo showed him his right arm and the tear in his jacket. Yusei took his arm and gently pushed back the sleeve. He was surprised to see that Leo's arm was already bandaged, and quite expertly if the neatness of the bandage was any indication.

"Who bandaged your arm?" Yusei asked looking up at Leo's face.

"A girl we met in the park. She had a first aid kit in her bag. Weird huh?" Crow's eyebrows raised as Leo mentioned a girl with a first aid kit in her bag.

"Who carries a first aid kit around in their bag?' he asked.

"She does obviously," Leslie retorted. Crow could at least show some gratitude, the girl did help Leo.

"Does this girl have a name?" Jack asked.

"She said her name was Vaith," Rally replied. The three older boys looked shocked.

"Vaith Ishihara?" Yusei asked.

"She didn't tell us her last name," Rally responded with a shrug.

"Did she have twilight colored hair and grey eyes?" Crow inquired.

"Yeah, that's her. You know her?"

"She's Clare's best friend, of course I know her."

"I'm finished with your runner Crow so you can take Leo to get his arm looked at," Yusei said sliding Leo's sleeve back into place. He stood up and wiped the dust off the knees of his jeans.

"Alright, come on Leo." Crow gave Leo a spare helmet and helped him onto the back of his runner. Crow sat in front of him and started the engine.

"Hold on tight little buddy," he said. Leo wrapped his arms around Crow's middle and held on for dear life. With that Crow revved the engine and exited the garage via the ramp. The other three Duel Academy students set to work on their homework and Yusei sat on the couch next to Jack. He slouched forward, resting his arms on his thighs.

"Are you alright Yusei?" Rally asked.

"I'm fine, just tired."

"Of course you're tired," Jack said, "You've been working more than usual the past few days, and that's saying something. It's like you're trying to get something out of your head." He paused and looked at Yusei. "Are you trying to get something out of your head?"

"It's nothing," he replied. Jack gave him a skeptical stare. He wasn't buying it.

"Did you meet someone on Friday?" Yusei was startled by the question and surprised by how perceptive Jack could be sometimes. But he didn't want Jack and Crow to know he had met Vaith on Friday. He wasn't sure what he thought about her so he thought it best to keep it to himself.

"No Jack. I'm just trying to forget how random girls kept coming up to me." Jack seemed to buy that one.

"So you're attempting to drown yourself in fixing machines and listening to loud rock music?" he asked.

"Yes, but it's not working."

"Just take a break for a while," Leslie suggested, "And listen to your music and try not to think about anything." Rally and Jack snorted.

"What?" Leslie asked, puzzled.

"Yusei not thinking, that's funny," Rally said.

"Asking Yusei to stop thinking is like asking the Earth to stop rotating," Jack added. Leslie and Luna sighed. Boys could be such a pain sometimes.

"But this is why you need a girlfriend Yusei, for times like this, when something is grating on your mind," Jack said. "Even Rally's noticed you hardly ever leave the garage for anything other than title matches, machine parts, and to visit Martha." Yusei sighed.

"You and Crow aren't going to quit are you?" he asked.

"Not a chance Yusei," Jack said. "Not until you are no longer single."

_Great_, Yusei thought.

* * *

Crow had come back with Leo a short while after they had left. The doctor had looked at Leo's arm and said stitches weren't needed and couldn't do much except to rebandage his arm.

"Seems like Vaith did a good job, the doctor thought a med-student had taken care of Leo's arm," Crow said as he, Jack, and Yusei sat around the kitchen table.

"You've mentioned that she's taking classes, is she a med-student?" Jack asked.

"I don't think so. Clare mentioned something about programming and security systems, stuff that's way beyond me. Though it would probably be right up your ally Yusei." But Yusei wasn't listening to Jack and Crow; he was lost in his own thoughts.

Ever since the events of Friday night, Yusei could think of almost nothing but Vaith. He kept thinking of how much she had cried but also how hard she tried to hide her tears, how long she had held them back before she just couldn't take it anymore. He saw her moonlit face everywhere he looked; the sadness and loneliness that filled her eyes colored silver in the moonlight. He felt her slender form in his arms, her head on his shoulder, her hands on his chest. But what occupied his mind more than anything else was the moment she kissed him; a hand on his right cheek, the other over his racing heart and her soft, warm lips on his other cheek. He could feel it like she was right there and he couldn't get it out of his mind. He had been trying everything he could think of but nothing worked. Working on Crow's runner while listening to rock music had helped and he managed to drive the encounter from his mind; until Rally said her name.

_Why do I keep thinking about that? It didn't mean anything beyond a thank you; it was an expression of gratitude. But then why do I see her everywhere I look? I even see her when I close my eyes. I can feel her in my arms, her head on my shoulder. What's wrong with me? Am I just losing it? _He was lost in his own thoughts as Jack and Crow tried unsuccessfully to get his attention.

_And then the kiss. Oh it always comes back to that. She was so close, her touch so gentle, her lips so soft. Dammit stop thinking like that! I don't even know how I feel about her. She's obviously been through a lot, and she cringed when I reached for her face. But she understands what I'm going through; she's stuck in the middle of the same thing. And what's with this weird connection I felt? When she hugged me I knew that putting the barrette back in her hair and just being there meant a lot to her. And how I got her to open up a little. I can't even begin to explain how happy that made me. And how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. Wait, what? Did I seriously…? No, don't tell me I'm…_

"YUSEI!" Jack and Crow had been trying to get Yusei's attention for the past fifteen minutes. They tried calling his name, shaking his shoulder, waving their hands in front of his face, snapping their fingers in his face, but nothing worked, he was effectively spaced out. It was only when they called his name in unison that he seemed to snap out of it.

"Huh?" he said snapping away from his thoughts.

"Dude, we've been trying to get your attention for like, fifteen minutes but you were off in lala land," Crow explained. Yusei put his head in his hand and closed his eyes.

"Sorry, I've just go a lot on my mind."

"I'll say."

"This goes way beyond trying to forget that a bunch of random girls walked up to you and tried hitting on you," Jack said forcefully. He knew Yusei wasn't telling them something. It was a bad habit of his to hide how he really felt and not let others know what was troubling him; and sometimes it really irritated Jack.

"Huh? What's this about trying to forget girls hitting on you?" Crow asked.

"After you left with Leo, Rally, Luna, and Leslie sat down to do their homework; Yusei sat on the couch. Apparently something seemed off because Rally asked if he was alright. He said he was just tired. I asked him if he was trying to forget something and he said he was trying to forget the fact that on Friday random girls came up to him and tried hitting on him. But apparently it's more than that," Jack said looking directly at Yusei.

"Apparently. Yusei doesn't usually space out like that. Yusei, did you meet someone on Friday?" Crow asked, also turning to look at Yusei. He was still leaning his head on his hand. He opened his eyes and looked at his friends. Jack had his arms folded across his chest and an impatient look on his face. Crow had his arms on the table, and expression of curiosity on his face.

"No, I didn't."

"I asked him that earlier and got the same answer," Jack told Crow.

"Then what's up Yusei?"

"It's nothing," he responded and closed his eyes again. Jack was pissed.

"Dammit Yusei," he slammed a fist on the table, startling both Yusei and Crow. "We're not idiots; we know it's not nothing, if it was you wouldn't be affected by it. So why don't you tell us what's on your mind for once in your life, or do I have to beat it out of you like last time?" Yusei was stunned. Jack had never demanded to know what was bothering him before and he didn't understand why he was starting now. He remained silent.

"Yusei, don't you get it? We're worried about you, though Jack has an odd way of showing it. You don't get out of the garage enough to have any kind of personal life and you spend almost all your time helping, and taking care of others. You don't do much for yourself."

"It's like you're afraid to make yourself happy," Jack growled. "There is no way it's good for you. It's not a crime to be selfish once in a while. It's also not a crime to let you best friends know what the hell has got you so spaced out!" Yusei never realized how much Jack and Crow worried about him; he thought they wanted him to get a girlfriend because they felt sorry for him. And Jack did have an odd way of showing he cared; he seemed to have developed a big brother complex.

"It's-" Yusei began but Jack cut him off.

"If you say it's nothing one more time, I will personally scatter all your tools throughout the house." Crow chuckled. He knew Jack was serious and the thought of Yusei scavenging around the house for his tools was rather hysterical, especially if Jack hid them.

Yusei sighed. Maybe there was a way to tell Jack and Crow what was on his mind without saying he'd met Vaith.

"When I left the ballroom to get some air I went into the courtyard and ran into someone. They had just gotten into a fight with someone close to them and were pretty upset," Yusei said finally.

"Were they hurt?" Crow asked in a concerned tone.

"Not physically no, it wasn't that kind of fight. They were just really shaken up by the argument they'd had," Yusei replied, moving his hand to his forehead. He could still see the tears cascading from Vaith's eyes; it tugged on his heartstrings with the same force it had on Friday night.

"What did you do then?" Jack inquired, losing some of the edge to his voice now that Yusei was talking.

"I couldn't just leave them there, so I stayed with them until they calmed down." Yusei closed his eyes and could once again feel Vaith's slender frame in his arms. He resolved not to mention who he met in the courtyard until he sorted out his feelings.

"What was her name?" Jack asked. Yusei, who was surprised by the question, opened his eyes and looked at Jack.

"What makes you think I ran into a girl?"

"The fact that you keep saying 'they' like you're trying to hide their gender, and the only reason you would do that is to try and hid the fact that you met a girl from me and Crow," he replied, sounding an awful lot like a big brother who figured out his little brother had a crush on someone and was trying to hide it.

"It's either that or you're gay and don't want to tell us," Crow added, sounding like the older brother who liked busting his little brother's chops. Yusei gave Crow a look that said 'That's not it at all'.

"Okay, if that's not the case then what's her name?"

"She didn't tell me her name," he fibbed. He didn't like lying to Jack and Crow, but he thought it best until he figured out his jumbled up emotions. Jack and Crow seemed to buy it.

"Bummer, if only they had you could have asked her out," Crow said with a shrug.

"I only met her once," Yusei said.

"But you're obviously crushing on her. I mean come on, you've become a complete space cadet lately." It took all of Yusei's discipline and self-control not to blush at Crow's comment. He wasn't crushing on Vaith; he was only worried about her. He wasn't interested in dating and the stress a of romantic relationship was the last thing Vaith needed; Kevin was causing her enough misery and the two weren't even together..

"It's not like that Crow," Yusei said, "I'm just worried about her." Crow nodded his head wisely.

"Umhm, a definite sign that you're crushing on her. The downside is that she didn't give you her name. But hopefully you'll get to see her again." Yusei shook his head. It seemed like there was nothing he could say that would change Jack and Crow's minds. He wasn't crushing on Vaith Ishihara. Sure he saw her face everywhere he looked; he could still feel her in his arms, but that was natural if you were worried about someone. Right? It was impossible to fall in love with someone after only meeting them once and spending a couple of hours together. Wasn't it?

**There you have it, chapter four. I have the next four chapters all typed out, they just need a little polishing up. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the story overall. Please leave a review, though no flames please and thank you. Thank you for taking the time to read this story, it makes me happy.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello people of FanFiction, this is chapter five of Just Coincidence. Not much plot exposition in this chapter but that's okay. Please enjoy the chapter.**

Ch. 5- Surprise Meeting

It was a week after Leo cut his arm and Leslie was walking home by herself. Rally had to get home to the apartment he shared with three older friends; something about cleaning his room had come up during lunch. The twins were going to have company over later so they had to tidy up the house.

Leslie had spent some time with the guys at the garage but it was getting late and she didn't want Martha to worry about where she was; so she was walking home by herself. The area wasn't bad, but she didn't like walking alone, it was too quiet for six o'clock in the evening. She decided to cut through the park where there were a lot of people.

As she made her way through the park some people would glance at her, mostly creepy looking men who needed to have 'creeper' stamped across their foreheads in bold, red, capital letters. She thought she heard footsteps behind her and she picked up her pace a bit. She wasn't usually so jittery; but growing up in the Satellite you learned to be alert at all times, especially when it was getting dark. You also developed an incredible instinct for sensing threats and danger, and her instincts were sounding the warning bells.

"Leslie," a voice called from somewhere close by. Leslie looked around to see who had called her name but spotted no familiar faces.

"Leslie!" This time the voice was closer. Leslie looked to her left and saw Vaith coming toward her; she immediately felt relieved. At least she wasn't alone anymore. Vaith finally made it over to Leslie. Her bag was on her shoulder and her hair glimmered in the light of the setting sun.

"Hello Leslie," she said in greeting.

"Hi Vaith," she replied.

"Why are you walking by yourself?"

"I'm on my way home. Rally and the twins had to go home early so I'm by myself."

"Do you want me to walk home with you?"

"Yes please." Leslie wouldn't say it out loud, but going anywhere by herself when it was getting dark always put her on edge. So she was only too glad to have someone else with her. The two of them started walking in the direction of Leslie's house.

"So how's Leo's arm?" Vaith asked.

"It's on the mend. He didn't need to get stitches either, but he's enjoying the attention he's getting because of it," Leslie replied.

"It's good he didn't need stitches. So you found someone to take him to the doctor I take it."

"Yeah, Crow took him. He says he knows you," Leslie said looking up at Vaith.

"Umhm, his girlfriend is one of my best friends, so I see him quite often. He usually comes to see Clare when we're having lunch together."

"He and Leo thought it was weird that you carry a first aid kit around in your bag."

"It is a bit on the strange side," Vaith admitted, "But for me it's a force of habit. It's also convenient."

"Thank you for helping Leo. Without your help who knows what might have happened." Vaith gave her a small smile.

"You're welcome." They walked the rest of the way in comfortable silence, glad to have each other's company.

"This is it," Leslie said as they came up to the house. It was a medium sized house with two floors. There was a large yard to one side, a swing set, and a small flower garden. The lights were on inside.

"It looks quite cozy," Vaith said.

"Yeah, it's not much but it's home," Leslie replied with a smile. "Come on then." She took Vaith by the hand headed toward the door.

"Is it alright if I come in?" Vaith asked, guessing Leslie's intentions.

"It's fine, Martha won't mind." She opened the door and led Vaith into the house. The inside was roomy and nicely decorated; children's voices were coming from upstairs.

"Martha, I'm home and I've brought a friend," Leslie called, letting go of Vaith's hand. A moment later a matronly-looking African American women in a red dress came to the front of the house. She had black hair and warm brown eyes. She seemed relieved to see Leslie.

"There you are, I was beginning to worry," she said hugging Leslie. She then turned to Vaith. "Thank you for bringing Leslie home."

"It wasn't a problem," Vaith replied.

"Martha," Leslie said breaking away from Martha, "This is Vaith. She's the one who bandaged Leo's arm."

"It's nice to meet you Vaith," Martha said with a warm smile.

"Likewise," Vaith replied.

"Have you eaten yet?" she asked. Vaith shook her head.

"Then you should stay for dinner."

"Is that alright?"

"Of course," Martha replied.

"Alright then."

"It'll be ready in about an hour," she said and headed back to the kitchen. Leslie headed for the large room to the right of the doorway at the end of a short hallway. Vaith followed and found that it was the dining room. A long wooden table was stationed in the center with several chairs around it; some were pulled away from the table, suggesting someone had recently vacated them.

Leslie had taken up residence in one of the chairs and had placed her school bag on the floor; a couple of books were on the table next to her. Vaith took a chair next to Leslie.

"Homework?" she asked.

"Yeah. This stuff is easy," she said referring to her math homework, "But some of the dueling puzzles are pretty difficult. Crow helped me on one of them, but we couldn't figure out the other one." She then put away one of the books deciding she didn't need it, and her completed math homework.

"Do you want some help?"

"Yeah, I can't figure it out for the life of me."

"After dinner then?"

"Sure."

* * *

Leslie and Vaith remained at the table after dinner. Vaith had been surprised by the number of children Martha looked after; there must have been at least eight under the age of fourteen, nine if you included Leslie. Leslie explained that all of them were orphans and had lost their parents in Zero Reverse. Vaith found it quite easy to identify with them.

The other children had taken a liking to Vaith and had asked her questions all throughout dinner. But now they were upstairs and Leslie and Vaith were alone at the dining room table. They had spent thirty minutes on the second duel puzzle. Vaith had looked at it for a few minutes then returned it to Leslie. She then guided Leslie through it by asking her questions. Leslie felt great when she finally figured out the solution.

"I never would've thought of that," she said putting the completed puzzle back into her bag with her other homework.

"Yeah, that was a tough one."

"Vaith, do you play duel monsters?" Leslie asked turning to her.

"I've fought my share of duels, yes."

"Then could you help me with something else?"

"What is it?" Vaith asked curiously.

"In a couple of weeks we're going to be having a tournament at school. I'm not a very good duelist, so I was wondering if you could help me become better," she said meekly.

"I think I can handle that," Vaith replied with a slight smile. "May I see your deck?" Leslie pulled a deck box out of one of the pockets in her uniform and handed it to Vaith. She then removed the cards and began examining them; it wasn't a bad deck, as a matter of fact it was a great deck. It was well constructed and it seemed balanced. Vaith knew then what Leslie's two biggest problems were.

"You use a fire deck," she commented as she looked through the cards. "You also use Lotus cards."

"You can tell?" Leslie asked astonished. It was easy to tell she used a fire deck, but no one had noticed the Lotus cards.

"Umhm, I think I also know what your two biggest problems are."

"And what are they?"

"One, you don't have much self-confidence; that's key in duel monsters. You have to believe in yourself and your deck. Right now I think you cards trust you, but you don't trust yourself." Leslie looked away. It was true, she had little if any confidence in her abilities as a duelist. She understood the gameplay, the strategy and such. She understood her cards, treasured them, but she had never believed she would amount to much as a duelist. Hell, she had never even been able to summon her favorite monster in a duel. She also didn't think three turns ahead like Yusei, Jack, and Crow, nor did she have the card knowledge Yusei did. She saw herself as a less than average duelist.

"And two, you aren't entirely familiar with your cards."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"I mean you don't know your cards inside and out. A big part of being a good duelist is knowing every card in your deck inside and out. Your deck is well constructed, which means you have good dueling instincts. You just don't have the knowledge to release the potential of your cards. I'd be incredibly surprised if anyone at your school even knew what Lotus cards are, most professionals don't even know what they are."

"Do you know how to use them? Can you teach me?" Leslie asked meekly. Vaith smiled in response.

"Of course, and lesson one begins now."

* * *

Over the next week and a half Vaith tutored Leslie every night. She'd walk home with Leslie and after dinner they would begin lessons. At Martha's kitchen table she taught Leslie about how to use her deck, about each card in it, and different strategies to use. She set up puzzles for Leslie to solve and as the days passed she improved. The others, meaning the twins, Rally, Crow, and Jack, all wondered how she had improved so much so fast. Her only response was that she had been studying with a friend. The others didn't press the matter, but they thought something more was going on. Leo thought she was taking private lessons from Yusei, but Luna shot that theory down; Yusei wasn't the type of person to help one person and not another, so that idea was scrapped. Rally guessed that she had found some sort of instruction manual for becoming a better duelist, but again the idea was scrapped. You could only learn so much from books, and when it came to dueling, the information you could learn from a book was very limited in the wide scope of the game. Eventually they all came to the agreement that Leslie had a tutor, but they were baffled as to who it was.

"Then I activate Mirror Force and I win," Leslie said, she was in another tutoring session with Vaith.

"Yup, good job Leslie."

"These are getting easier." Actually, they didn't feel like tutoring sessions at all; they felt like more of a study group, friends getting together in order to study something interesting, to make each other better. Leslie loved it.

"That's the point," Vaith said with a laugh.

"Vaith, could you give me a hand?" Martha called from the kitchen.

"Yes, I'm coming," she replied. "I'll be right back Leslie."

"Umhm." Vaith left the table and headed for the kitchen. Leslie, to occupy her time until Vaith came back, spread her deck out on the table and examined her cards, looking for new combinations she could use in a pinch. She had learned a lot about her cards over the last week and a half, most of it she had never known before. Now coming up with new strategies wasn't quite so difficult.

* * *

There was a knock at the door. A man somewhere in his twenties with brown hair and matching eyes, wearing brown pants, a white button-down shirt, a green sleeveless vest, and a pendent around his neck answered it. The one Yusei Fudo stood on the other side of the door.

"Hey Yusei, long time no see," the man said in greeting.

"Nice to see you too Blister."

"You came to see Martha didn't you? Well, come on in then." Blister stepped aside to let Yusei in.

"Thanks," he said steeping into the cozy house.

"By the way, where is Martha?"

"She's probably putting away the dishes; we finished dinner not too long ago," Blister replied closing the door. The two of them headed for the kitchen to look for Martha.

"So what's this I hear about Yusei the Uncatchable crushing on a girl?" Yusei's cheeks turned a barely perceptible shade of pink.

"Jack and Crow are just exaggerating, I'm not crushing on anyone," he replied as calmly as he could.

"Sounds to me like you're in denial, but whatever. It's bound to happen eventually, you can't spend your entire life single."

"Jack and Crow said pretty much the same thing, and that they won't let up until I'm not."

"They're just worried about you Yusei. They don't want you to spend the rest of your life alone." They walked by the dining room, Yusei stopped when he saw Leslie by herself at the table with her cards spread out. Blister took no notice and kept walking.

"Blister, what's Leslie doing at the table by herself?"

"Hm?" He walked back to the entrance to the dining room and looked inside. "Oh she's doing homework and getting tutored."

"Tutored?"

"Yup, for the past week and a half, she's gotten loads better too. Her tutor walks home with her and then helps her with her homework and dueling skills."

"Why would Leslie need a tutor? Is she falling behind at school?"

"No, Leslie said she wanted to improve her dueling skills for a tournament coming up at school so she asked for some help. Like I said before, she's gotten loads better. Go look for yourself." Intrigued, Yusei entered the dining room, followed by Blister.

"Hello Leslie," he said making his presence known. Leslie turned around and looked at the two older boys.

"Hi Yusei, Blister. What's up?"

"Not much, Yusei was just wondering what you were up to. I told him about your tutor and he seemed interested." Yusei moved and stood next to Leslie, looking at her spread out cards.

"By the way, where is she?" Blister asked looking about the room.

"She went to help Martha with something, she'll be back in a minute." Yusei raised an eyebrow at Blister.

"Oh yeah," Blister said stroking his chin, "I forgot to mention that your tutor is a girl." Leslie rolled her eyes; sometimes she couldn't understand how a boy's mind worked.

"And you probably forgot to mention the fact you think she's cute."

"It's a fact, but no I didn't mention it. I thought she's more Yusei's type than mine," Blister replied simply. Both Leslie and Yusei shook their heads.

"Anyway Yusei, I'm trying to come up with different card combinations that could be useful in a tight situation, do you see any I missed?" Yusei examined the cards spread out on the tabletop, placed into different groups showing different combinations.

_Wow, she has improved. Some of these combinations are pretty complex and require quite a bit of skill, timing, and patience. I would have to think a while before coming up with some of these combinations. Whoever's been tutoring her must be quite the duelist. _

"I don't notice any right away," he replied, "and they all seem pretty solid. If you have this many possible strategies at your disposal, you should be more than ready come the tournament."

"I hope so, I don't want to make her feel like she wasted her time teaching me."

"I wouldn't worry about that. Just trust yourself and your deck and you should be fine," Yusei said ruffling Leslie's hair. Leslie laughed.

"That's exactly what-" Leslie began before Vaith entered the room. Yusei froze, his eyes wide in surprise. Vaith noticed Blister.

"Hello Blister."

"Nice to see ya," he replied with a smile. "I'd like you to meet a friend of mine." He motioned toward Yusei, who was still frozen in place, only now his cheeks were slightly pink. Vaith's eyes followed Blister's gesture. Upon seeing Yusei, her expression mimicked his, her cheeks also turning pink.

"Hello Yusei," she said shyly, "It's nice to see you again."

"Same here," he replied, finally unsticking his voice, though it sounded somewhat stained, as if he was having trouble breathing.

"Wait," Blister said looking from one to the other, an extremely confused expression on his face, "You two know each other?"

**Hope you like this chapter. I know it's a bit on the shorter side and for that I apologize. Please R and R.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Here is chapter six. It's on the short side, actually I think it's the same length as chapter one, which makes it pretty short. I'm sorry for that, but it seemed a logical place to stop. To make up for it I'm also uploading chapter 7, which is pretty heft, in my opinion. **

Ch. 6- Yusei's Lesson in Love

"It's a long story but yes, we've met," Vaith explained. Leslie didn't seem too surprised, but it was still pretty unexpected. Blister on the other hand nearly fell over. That was fifteen minutes ago, now Vaith and Yusei were the only ones at the table. An awkward silence hung in the air.

_Dammit Blister you did this on purpose. I don't even know what I should say to her; and I can't get thoughts of that night out of my head. Damn it!_ Yusei thought in frustration. _I just need to get her talking about something, anything but that night._

"I didn't know you played duel monsters," he said finally hoping his voice sounded calm.

"I don't play much anymore, but I often played with my father when I was little," Vaith replied. There wasn't a hint of nervousness in her voice, but the state of her mind was a bit different.

_This is really awkward. I haven't seen him since that night and now here he is right in front of me. I did want to see him again but I didn't expect things to be so awkward._

"What type of deck to you use?"

"It's a nature slash elemental deck, similar to the kind Leslie uses."

"You must be a pretty good duelist to get Leslie to improve so much so fast." The awkwardness dissipated a little now that they were talking about something they both enjoyed, dueling.

"I don't think it's that. I think it's more that I understand how her mind works, so I can take something she doesn't understand and explain it in a way she can relate to more." Yusei smiled slightly.

"Either way, your method is working." A thought nagged at the back of Yusei's mind, but he wasn't sure how to ask it without making things awkward again.

"How have you been?" Vaith asked, trying to keep Yusei talking.

"Nothing to report," he replied, "Jack and Crow are their usual selves, arguing almost every hour of the day, telling me I need to get out of the garage once in a while, things like that." He sighed. "I know they mean well, but sometimes I just want them to see things from my perspective and understand why what they're asking of me is so difficult."

"I know how you feel. Sara and Jessica are the same way. I know Carly and Clare agree, they're just not as adamant about it." Yusei nodded and closed his eyes. That question was still nagging him, and he desperately wanted to know the answer, but he didn't want to make Vaith feel uncomfortable.

"Yusei, are you alright?" Her voice was quiet and gentle, he sighed.

"Yes I'm fine," he said, "There's just something that's been nagging me for a while now."

"What is it?"

"Have you…have you had any problems with Kevin lately?" He expected the awkwardness to return, so he stared at the table. The familiar sensation of holding Vaith in his arms returned; his left cheek felt warm.

"No," Vaith replied, "I haven't seen him since the gala, so he hasn't been around to bother me."

"That's good," Yusei replied without looking up. He was almost certain his face was as red as his Mark of the Dragon.

"Yusei."

"Hm?"

"Thank you for caring." He looked up at her face and saw she wore a shy smile. "It's not every day you meet someone who genuinely cares about how you've been."

"Don't mention it," he replied. _She's the type of person who's thankful for the little things. She kind of reminds me of Leslie._ He tried, unsuccessfully, to banish the thought that she was cute when she smiled.

_Damn hormones, _he thought.

"It's getting late, I should probably get going," she said.

"Do you need a ride?" He certainly didn't want her to walk home in the dark, something could happen.

"No it's alright. My apartment's not far from here," she said, once again smiling.

"You sure?"

"Yes, but thanks for offering." She got up and headed for the front door, Yusei followed. She stopped by the living room. Yusei stayed out in the hall. She gave Leslie a hug.

"I'll see you tomorrow okay?"

"Yup. See you then." Vaith then gave a slight bow to Blister.

"See you later Blister."

"See you later Vaith." She exited the living room and rejoined Yusei in the hall and continued to the front door. Martha was there waiting for them.

"Same time tomorrow?" she asked with a smile.

"Yes, I'll be here." Vaith replied. Martha nodded and turned her attention to Yusei.

"Blister said you wanted to see me. I'll be in the dining room when you're finished here." She gave a Vaith a hug then left.

"You sure you don't want me to take you home?" Yusei asked once more.

"No, I'll be fine. You don't need to trouble yourself."

"Alright then, just be careful."

"Don't worry, I will be." She gave him one more beautiful smile, then opened the door.

"See you around Yusei," she said, and, unless Yusei was imagining things, her cheeks looked a bit pink.

"See ya," he replied. With that the door shut and she was gone. Blister came up behind Yusei.

"You seriously need to get out more. You're so awkward around women that it's almost sad. Besides, I think she's your type, she acts just like you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Yusei replied, not really listening. He then made his way back to the dining room. When he got there Martha was sitting at the table waiting for him. He took the seat directly across from her; he remained silent.

"So," she began, "I hear from Jack and Crow that you've been a bit distracted lately."

"I think that's putting it mildly," he replied leaning his head on his gloved hand.

"What's bothering you Yusei?"

"Surely Jack and Crow have told you everything, all the details," he said with a sigh.

"They did, but I want to hear it from you," she chided. Yusei sighed again.

"At the gala I went outside to get some air, the atmosphere inside was oppressive. While I was wondering around I ran into a girl who looked pretty upset. I asked her what the matter was and she told me she had gotten into an argument with someone close to her. I didn't ask the details, but I did ask her if she was hurt. She said she wasn't but she looked pretty shaken up. I stayed with her until she calmed down then took her back inside. She thanked me and left." Martha listened as he recounted his story and could understand why he had been so worried about this girl; it was just his nature to worry about other people. She also wondered if there was more he wasn't telling her, but she let it go.

"So you've been worried about this girl since then."

"Yes, and I can't seem to get her out of my head." He fixed her with a rather desperate look and seemed to ask _Is there something wrong with me?_

"Hm, maybe Jack and Crow are right and you're in love with this girl," Martha pondered. He sighed.

"I don't think that's it. I've only met her once and love is built on longstanding trust. No, I think it's more camaraderie than anything else."

"But you can't straighten out your thoughts and feelings for this girl, can you?"

"No, I can't," he admitted.

"Yusei," she said gently, "Love isn't a simple thing, not by any stretch of the imagination. There is no unifying definition. It comes in so many shapes, sizes, degrees, and colors that what's love to one person isn't necessarily love to the next. You may be in love, you may not be. Either way, you are the only one who will know for sure which it is. But there is one fact I think you need to come to terms with."

"And what's that?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"That you wouldn't know what love looked like if it was standing right in front of you," she said smiling. Yusei blinked in confusion. Martha shook her head and continued, still smiling.

"What I'm saying Yusei is that you wouldn't know what romantic love looks or feels like because you've never been in love before. Your thoughts and feelings are all jumbled up because your heart and mind are conflicted over what happened. Jack and Crow went through exactly the same thing, but it takes time for your heart and mind to come to a consensus. It took Jack nearly a year to sort out his feelings for Carly. Sometimes it takes years, sometimes months, but it all works itself out in the end. But fighting and denying it won't do you any good, you feelings will make themselves known one way or another, even if you don't want them to."

"Thanks Martha," he said smiling a little. "I think I needed that."

"Of course, I'm here for whenever you three troublemakers need me."

**Okay, I thought it would be logical to stop here, hence why this chapter is so short. I'll upload it with chapter 7 to make up for it. Please r & r, just no flames, please and thank you.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here is chapter 7, and in it I move the plot along a bit. This was originally much longer, but I decided to split it into two chapters. Together they seemed a bit too much for one chapter. So please enjoy. And just a warning, there is a bit of violence in this chapter, just so you are forewarned.**

Ch. 7- The Breaking Point

Talking to Martha may have made Yusei feel better, but it certainly didn't make things any easier for him. He started running into Vaith in all kinds of places: the park, around the city, the grocery store, they even ran into each other at Martha's a few more times. Every time they ran into each other they'd wave to the other, and if no one else was around they'd sit down and talk. They didn't want the media getting wind of their acquaintance because it wouldn't be long after that the crazy stories would start flying, not something that either of them needed, or wanted.

It soon got to the point where he knew her as well as he knew his other friends, and better than most people knew her. He enjoyed being with her, she was fun to be with but there were times he felt the urge to hold her close or run his hands through her twilight hair. But he never acted on those impulses; he cared more about her feelings than his current dilemma so he avoided doing anything that could be misinterpreted.

Jack and Crow were still oblivious to the fact that he knew her at all. He hadn't mentioned running into her at Martha's, though the two of them had heard about his talk with Martha. He also refrained from mentioning the numerous other times he ran into her. The two of them were happy knowing that he spent a little more time outside the garage. Carly and Clare were just as oblivious as their boyfriends only as far as Yusei and Vaith knowing each other was concerned. But they thought something was up with their best friend.

"Crow, do think Vaith's been acting weird lately?" Clare asked one afternoon in the garage. She and Carly had come over after work for a visit, Vaith was at class. Clare and Crow were sitting together on the couch, Carly and Jack sat at the table.

"Weird? No, I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary," he replied rubbing his chin in thought. "She still acts like Vaith as far as I can tell."

"What makes you think she's acting weird?" Jack asked.

"We're not entirely sure, but she seems…different," Carly replied. "It's nothing bad, it's just that she seems a little…happier? I really don't know what it is, but she seems different from before."

"If she wasn't so hard to read it wouldn't be such a problem. But most of the time it's impossible to tell what she's thinking," Clare said, laying her head on Crow's shoulder and sighing. "We just feel like there's something that she's not telling us."

"We feel your pain, Yusei's the same way. If you want to know what's really on his mind you have to literally beat it out of him," Jack added. "It really ticks me off sometimes how he keeps his thoughts to himself. It's like he doesn't trust us." He crossed his arms and scowled.

"I don't think that's it Jack," Carly cut in. He gave her a skeptical look but didn't say anything. Carly took it as a signal to continue.

"I think Yusei keeps his problems to himself not because he doesn't trust you and Crow, but because he doesn't want to add to your problems and seem like a burden." Jack looked at her for a moment.

"Never thought of it that way," he said.

"Now that you mention it Carly, it seems like Vaith and Yusei are a bit alike," Clare added. Crow looked at her.

"How so?"

"Well, for one, trying to read them is close to impossible. You'd need a guidebook to decipher any given expression. For two, they keep their problems to themselves so they don't seem like a burden to us. I mean when was the last time either Yusei or Vaith willingly volunteered information about what was bothering them?" The others thought about it, but were unable to come up with any occasion where the two aforementioned teenagers went to any of them about something that ate away at them.

"I see your point," Jack said.

"Yeah, the two of them seem like two peas from the same pod," Crow said laughing. "Two people who work too much and don't know the meaning of the word 'relax', not to mention two single people." Suddenly Carly's face lit up.

"I have a great idea!" The others were mildly confused, but let her continue.

"What if we tried to hook Vaith and Yusei up?" The others were dumbfounded, it was so simple. Why hadn't they thought of that before?

"Clare, we both know that Vaith is a big Yusei fan. I think she'd be thrilled to actually meet him." Carly couldn't suppress her giggling.

"She'd be thrilled yes, but I'm not sure if she would be able to talk to him. She can be pretty shy under normal circumstances so meeting Yusei she may be completely speechless. But I do like the idea."

"I'm all for this idea too," Crow interjected, "But there's a slight bump in the road." The two girls looked at him, befuddled.

"Umhm," Jack agreed. "You see, it seems that Yusei already has a girl on his mind, they apparently met at the gala."

"And lately Yusei has become a complete space cadet. So it seems pretty safe to assume that Yusei is crushing on this girl," Crow added. The two girls stared with their mouths agape.

"He's what? No way!"

"Yup, we couldn't believe it either, unfortunately though he didn't get the girl's name. I swear, he is completely clueless when it comes to women," Jack said rolling his eyes.

"Anyway, we can give this plan of yours a try Carly, but Yusei may already have found someone," Crow said.

"Well, we won't know until we try," she replied.

"You won't know what?" The four teenagers looked toward the entrance to the garage and standing there in their Duel Academy uniform was none other than Leslie.

"Oh, hi Leslie," Crow called.

"Hi guys," she replied.

"How long have you been listening?" inquired Jack.

"Not long, just long enough to know that you have a plan for something," she answered. "But anyway, I just came by to say that the twins and Rally won't be coming over today."

"Why not, are they grounded?" Crow asked.

"No. We have a test tomorrow so Luna dragged Rally and Leo home to make sure that they study."

"Alright, thanks Leslie. We'll let Yusei know when he gets back," Carly said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"I'm surprised you didn't go with them," Crow said looking at Leslie. She gave him a rather confused look. "Normally you go anywhere Leo goes, so I'm surprised you didn't go study with him." Leslie's face turned a bright shade of red.

"I _do not_ go everywhere Leo goes," she replied, turning around and walking out, her face as red as her uniform. Clare, Jack, and Carly all looked at Crow and shook their heads.

"What? Was it something I said?"

"Sometimes you're hopeless Crow, just plain hopeless," Clare replied.

* * *

That evening it was cool, clear, and breezy. The sun was just setting and the stars were beginning to twinkle in the sky. Lights lit the city streets and many people were out enjoying the night air and pleasant weather. But there were two who took no notice of it.

"But they're dangerous Vaith. Who knows what they'll try and do to you."

"They're not dangerous Kevin, they're good people. You'd know that if you got to know them." The two of them made their way through the throngs of people as they walked down one of the well-lit streets of New Domino City.

"They're just biding their time Vaith. They'll pull something when you least expect it."

"They're not like that Kevin," she argued her voice sad and quiet. She walked a few feet in front of him and easily made her way through the people on the sidewalk without ruffling anyone's feathers. Kevin was struggling to keep up; he wasn't as graceful as she was. It was a lot harder for him to maneuver through those who were enjoying themselves.

"Vaith, they're from the Satellite, how could they not be? Besides, you deserve better. You're too good for them." Vaith stopped abruptly and turned to face Kevin.

"Because I was born in the city?"

"Yes. You know right from wrong, which is more than I can say for them."

"Where you were born doesn't set your nature down in stone. In the end it's not where you were born that matters, it's how you choose to live your life. Those from the Satellite are no less human than you or I." She cared about Kevin but she didn't appreciate that he kept belittling her friends because of something they had no control over.

"Vaith, you know I don't want anything to happen to you. I have a feeling that if you keep hanging out with them something _will_ happen, something bad. So I don't want you anywhere near them."

"I'm sorry Kevin, but I can't do that. You know I respect your opinion and your advice, but I cannot heed the words of a man who judges people solely on where they were born." The two had been so engrossed in their argument that neither of them realized where they had been walking. They had stopped on an empty street corner and were out of sight of any store windows. The only way they could be seen was if someone stepped out on to the street and looked in the direction of their voice; and that's just what one man did. He walked out of a nearby convenience store and had heard two people arguing. Looking up the street in the direction of their voices, he saw Vaith and Kevin standing at the corner across the street. They took no notice of him and kept arguing. He listened for a moment then decided it was just a lovers' quarrel and moved on.

"Kevin you don't know the first thing about my friends, how can you know with any certainty what they're like?"

"Because I know their kind," he responded rather loudly. He was becoming frustrated with Vaith's inability to see sense. "They grew up in the slums of the Satellite. They are lawless and uneducated; and nothing good could ever come from a person like that." He seemed unaware of the fact that he was almost shouting at Vaith. She was about to respond when someone came up to them.

"Hey, is everything alright?" The pair turned to look at the newcomer. Both recognized him immediately. Vaith's eyes lit up, Kevin scowled.

"We're fine Crow, just a small disagreement."

"One that does not concern you Satellite, so be on your way back to your sewer," Kevin shot vehemently.

"That's low you arrogant prick," Crow replied. He then stepped in front of Vaith, putting him face to face with Kevin. "Just because you have something against people from the Satellite doesn't mean you can push your philosophy on others.

"Get out of my face Satellite."

"No. You need someone to get in your face and show you that not all Satellites are the same." Vaith could feel the tension in the air; this situation was heating up incredibly quickly. Chances were it wouldn't end well unless she stepped in, she knew both men could be quick tempered.

"Crow," Vaith said putting her hand on his shoulder, "Don't start trouble." Seeing her hand on another man's shoulder, Kevin snapped. There was no way he would lose to a filthy Satellite. He aimed a punch a Crow's head. Before it could connect Vaith pulled on his Crow's shoulder. He stumbled backward but managed to stay on his feet.

"Kevin what are you doing?" Instead of answering her he launched another attack on Crow. Crow blocked it with his arm.

"Man, what's your problem?" Crow asked shoving Kevin backwards. The two of them were about the same size, though Crow was a bit shorter, a quarter of an inch or so, but he was more accustomed to fighting than Kevin.

"You're my problem Satellite." He aimed another punch.

"Kevin knock it off, he didn't do anything." Once again he ignored her protests.

"Dude, get a grip," Crow remarked. Kevin didn't seem to hear him either, he kept attacking. He aimed punch after punch at Crow, he tried to kick his feet out from under him but no matter what he did Crow blocked it. Vaith couldn't do anything but watch as Crow defended himself from an outraged Kevin.

_If this doesn't stop one of them is going to get hurt_, she thought. She stepped between the two boys when a space opened between them. Her back was to Crow.

"Kevin lay off. Crow didn't do anything; he just came over to make sure everything was alright." Kevin's eyes flared. He no longer seemed like he had control of his actions, he was too consumed with rage. Before any of them knew what happened Vaith was on the ground lying on her side in the street.

"Vaith are you okay?" Crow ran over and knelt beside her. She had slid about a foot or so along the street. When he got to her side she had already managed to sit up. She looked dazed and there was a large, red welt forming on her right cheek. Kevin's face paled all the fight and anger drained from him. Crow helped Vaith to her feet and put an arm around her shoulders. He gave Kevin a cold look.

"You really are an asshole," he said. He then began to lead Vaith away. She didn't say a word.

* * *

"Where the hell is Crow?" Jack asked. "He should've been back by now."

"Relax Jack, he'll be back soon," Yusei replied. He sat on the couch, doing something on his laptop. Jack was at the table, drumming his fingers on its surface. Yusei had intended to get some work done but he kept thinking of Vaith; he still couldn't work out his feelings for her.

"I hear something," Jack said. The two looked toward the doo just as it opened and spotted Crow.

"It's about time you came back," Jack said. Crow ignored him.

"Jack, grab the first aid kit; it's in the cabinet above the sink." Jack looked confused.

"Crow, are you hurt?" Yusei asked raising an eyebrow and standing up.

"Not me, her." He led Vaith into the garage. Both Jack and Yusei stared in surprise. "Yusei this is Vaith." Vaith didn't look at any of them; she just looked at the floor and remained silent. Noticing the welt on her face Jack went to the cabinet to get the first aid kit. Crow led her down the ramp and to the couch and sat her down.

"What happened?" Yusei asked sitting next to her.

"That fucking asshole Kevin slapped her," Crow growled.

"He did what?" Jack asked in shock.

"Apparently the two of them were in a disagreement over something. I heard that douche bag practically yelling at her. I walked over to make sure everything was alright but he freaked out and attacked me. Vaith tried to stop him, then he slapped her." Crow's voice was strained, like he was trying to keep himself from yelling. Jack brought over the first aid kit and handed it to Yusei.

"Yusei, can you take care of her?" Crow asked.

"Of course."

"Thanks." He turned and went upstairs. Jack and Yusei watched him go.

"Jack," Yusei said.

"I'm on it." He nodded to Yusei then followed Crow up the stairs. Yusei turned to Vaith, examining her injuries. There was a large hand shaped welt oh her right cheek and her left arm was scraped up. Yusei could see the shredded, bleeding flesh through the rip in her black shirt.

He reached for her left cheek, hoping to get a better look at the welt on her right cheek. His fingertips had barely grazed her cheek when she shrank away from his touch, cringing. A small whimper escaped her lips.

"It's alright Vaith, it's just me," he said quietly. She looked up, her frightened grey irises met his warm, gentle, cobalt ones.

"I won't hurt you," he said. He once again reached for her cheek. This time she didn't shrink away when he touched her. He placed his hand on her left cheek and had her turn her head so he could see her right cheek. The welt was a prominent red but now shaped less like a hand. Yusei sighed.

"There's not much I can do about this," he said. "At worst it'll bruise."

* * *

Jack found Crow upstairs in his room. His fist was against the wall, his forehead also leaning on the wall.

"Crow," Jack said announcing his presence.

"Dammit," Crow said, he seemed not to hear Jack.

"Crow," he said again.

"He slapped her Jack. He fucking slapped her! All she was trying to do was keep us from killing each other and he slapped her!" Jack kept quiet.

"She's never done anything to hurt anyone. She shouldn't have to put up with that fucking asshole. I'm such and idiot!" He punched the wall. Jack stepped closer and laid his hand on Crow's shoulder.

"Come on Crow, you need to cool down, before you do something stupid."

"Jack, did you see her face?"

"Of course I saw the mark on her face."

"I don't mean the welt Jack. Did you see the look on her face?" Crow was struggling to contain himself, struggling to keep from pummeling the wall.

"No."

"She looked like a zombie. It was like all the life had drained out of her." His voiced threatened to break. "She didn't look angry not even hurt or indignant. Her face was completely blank and her eyes looked lifeless…and it's my fault."

"What are you talking about? You're not the one who slapped her."

"Why did I have to challenge him? Why did I have to get in his face? I'm such a fucking idiot!" He punched the wall again.

"You need a distraction," Jack said. He pulled a cell phone out of his pants pocket and sent a text message. About thirty seconds later there was a response. Jack read it, closed the phone, and put it back in his pocket.

"Come on Crow, we're leaving," Jack commanded.

"What?" He turned around and stared at Jack.

"You heard me. You need to cool off before you go and do something stupid, so we're leaving. And I will drag you out of here if I have to." Jack grabbed his trench coat and headed for the stairs. Crow had no choice but to follow.

Once they were back in the garage they saw Yusei cleaning the scrapes on Vaith's arm. She had removed her long-sleeved black shirt revealing a black tank top with a white lotus printed on the front. Neither she nor Yusei noticed them.

"Yusei," Jack said, "Crow and I are going out for a while and won't be back 'til later." Yusei looked at his two best friends and nodded.

"Don't do anything stupid," he cautioned. Jack nodded then he and Crow walked up the ramp and out the door. Yusei turned his attention back to Vaith. She still hadn't said a word and her face still donned that lifeless expression. He finished cleaning the scrapes on her arm and bandaged them.

"Vaith," he said placing his hand on her cheek again lifting her face until their eyes met. "Are you alright?" he asked quietly. She shook her head and remained silent. In the fiery light of the setting sun he saw tears brimming in her eyes. He slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her close; he held her the same he had that Friday night, one arm around her waist and the other around her shoulders. Her hands rested on his chest, her head on his shoulder.

"It's okay to cry," he whispered. "Just let it out." Tears immediately began to cascade from her eyes. Yusei pressed his face to her hair and held her close.

**So that's the end of chapter 7. Please r & r. The next chapter will have lots of YuseixVaith in it, so that's something to look forward to. Thank you for reading this, you guys make me feel special, especially those who send me reviews and favorite my story. You guys are great.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, here's chapter eight. Sorry about going AWOL, school hijacked my life again. I swear my teachers are crazy. We have only three months or so left in the school year and they're making us do so many projects that I literally have about five or six things to do at once. You guys know how it is. But enough of my venting. This chapter is fluffish although it is still important. Though I do apologize for it being a bit on the short side. Please enjoy.**

Ch.8- When Things Come Together

The sun had set long before Vaith stopped crying. She didn't wail and complain, the tears just silently fell from her eyes. Yusei hadn't bothered to get up and turn a light on so they sat in the dark garage with only the light of the rising moon filtering in through the windows.

Yusei still had his face pressed to her hair, the twilight strands were silky soft and smelled of lavender. He gently ran a hand through her hair. Her head still lay on his shoulder and her hands on his chest. They stayed that way for a long time before her tears finally began to subside.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. It was the first time she had spoken in hours; her voice was hoarse.

"For what?" Yusei asked without ceasing his actions. He had his eyes closed and looked rather comfortable.

"For being a burden," she replied.

"You're not a burden Vaith," he whispered. "It's alright for you to cry when you're hurt; it doesn't mean you're a burden, neither does needing someone to be there for you." There was a long silence before she spoke again.

"Thank you."

"Umhm, I'll always be here if you need me."

* * *

The moon was now high in the sky, shining down into the garage. Yusei and Vaith were still on the couch. Vaith's tears had finally subsided and Yusei used his thumbs to wipe away the last of them.

"Do you feel better?" he asked.

"A little, yes," she replied.

"Good," he said with a small smile on his lips. He held her face in his hands, her skin, cool and damp from her tears, felt soft to the touch. He tilted her face upward so their eyes met. With the moonlight shining through the window her eyes and hair appeared silver, he skin seemed to glow. Yusei found he couldn't speak, caught off-guard by how beautiful she looked in the silver light of the moon, just like that Friday night. And to top it off a blush had spread across her cheeks, accentuated by her pale moonlit skin.

Yusei's mind was blank, not a single thought in that large brain of his; he didn't even notice how close their faces were. What had his attention were her lips; soft pink in contrast to the rest of her appearance. His mind had ceased its normal functioning and was instead running on autopilot. His cobalt eyes slid closed as he closed the small gap between them. He gently caressed her lips with his own, unaware of what he was doing. Her lips were soft and tasted faintly of honey.

Vaith had been more than a little embarrassed being so close to Yusei. She had trouble sorting out how own emotions and the current situation certainly wasn't making things any easier. His entire body was warm and his hands were gentle. For some reason she couldn't explain, she loved the feel of his arms around her, the safety and warmth of his embrace. She had blushed when their eyes met, the moon's serene light sharpened the blue of his eyes. They were now a color she recognized, but couldn't remember where. She could also see something in his eyes, but couldn't name it. When he gently kissed her, she was paralyzed. It definitely wasn't something she had expected. But she was paralyzed for only a moment, something about him made it impossible for Vaith to resist for long. Her eyes slid shut as she returned the kiss.

Without breaking the kiss, Yusei lightly traced his right hand down her neck, her shoulder, and over her arm until it lay over the bandages. Her skin was cool to the touch. Before long the need for air made itself known. It was when he gently broke the kiss that Yusei's brain came back online.

When he opened his eyes, there was space between their faces. He first noticed the deep blush that colored Vaith's face, then the position of his hands, and finally, the proximity of their faces; he could feel Vaith's breath tickle his lips. He then became aware of Vaith's silver irises gazing at him. He immediately became tense.

"Vaith, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean-" he stammered nervously. He stopped when Vaith cupped his face. She slowly closed the gap between them. Yusei's heart pounded rapidly in his chest; he was afraid it might explode. She stopped mere centimeters from his lips, so close he could practically feel them against his own. His heart threatened to rupture and he found a bit difficult to breathe. She seemed uncertain of herself.

"Vaith," he whispered, encouraging her. She then pressed her soft lips to his. Once again on autopilot, his eyes slid shut as he returned Vaith's display of affection. His body relaxed as her lips melded with his own, slowly caressing them. She soon pulled away and removed her hands from his face.

His mind was a bit muddled. He couldn't think straight for a moment of two after she broke the kiss, but he quickly recovered. He had enjoyed the sensation of her lips against his own, but something seemed…odd.

"This is the first time you've been kissed, isn't it?" he asked. Vaith averted her eyes, feeling ashamed and embarrassed.

"Is it that obvious?" She sounded hurt.

"I didn't mean it like that," he said apologetically, "It's just that you seemed so unsure of yourself, so hesitant." He then wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close. She laid her head on his shoulder and her right hand over his still quickly beating heart. He buried his nose in her hair and ran his left hand through the silky stands.

"I know you've said you're not interested in dating anyone right now," he said quietly, "But if you're willing to give me a chance…" At that point words failed him, but Vaith caught the meaning behind them.

"Of course," she replied, though by her tone Yusei imagined she was blushing furiously. He smiled into her hair, happy she had decided to give him a chance, and continued to run his hand through it. Glad that Yusei had helped her to feel better she smiled and enjoyed his warm embrace and gentle touch.

They stayed like that for a long time, taking comfort in each other's company. They passed the time in silence, simply because nothing needed to be said. It wasn't until one of them started dozing off that the other spoke.

"I think it's time I got you home, it's getting late," Yusei said as Vaith dozed off in his arms.

"That's probably a good idea." Reluctantly, she pulled away from him and put her ripped turtle-neck back on. Yusei got up and grabbed his jacket from the rack on the wall. His gloves were in the jacket pockets; he pulled them on and grabbed a spare helmet. Vaith was standing when he turned back around. She looked loads better than when Crow had brought her in, there was life in her eyes again.

"Here," he said handing her the spare helmet. He pulled on his own and mounted his runner. Pulling on hers, Vaith sat behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso.

"Ready?" he asked bringing the engine to life.

"I think so," came her reply.

"Alright then." He hit the gas, went up the ramp, through the door, and sped off into the cool, moonlit night.

Vaith's apartment wasn't too far from the garage; Yusei pulled into the parking garage about twenty minutes later. He and Vaith removed their helmets, left them on the runner, and took the elevator up to the fifteenth floor. Vaith exited the elevator with Yusei behind her. She turned right and stopped in front of apartment 1593. She pulled a key out of her jeans pocket and unlocked the door. After stepping inside she turned back to Yusei.

"You can come in if you want." Accepting the invitation Yusei stepped out of the hallway and into Vaith's apartment, closing the door behind him.

The apartment wasn't large, but it wasn't small either. There was a lot of room for one person, but it didn't seem excessive. A couch sat in the living room, dark blue and comfortable looking; it also bore the appearance of having been often slept on as a blanket was hung on the back. It faced a flat screen television mounted on the wall. A mahogany table was stationed in front of the couch, a stack of papers atop its surface. Several beautiful drawings were framed and adorned the walls, giving the place a homey, tranquil atmosphere. The floor was carpeted in beige, the walls white. A doorway led to the kitchen.

"Do you live by yourself?" Yusei asked after taking in the apartment. There was nothing that indicated the presence of another person.

"Yeah, but Zen visits as often as he can. Carly and Clare come over sometimes too."

"Something tells me you work too hard. It seems too clean," Yusei remarked looking at Vaith.

"Look who's talking," she retorted, a smile playing at her lips. "But anyway, thank you for what you've done for me tonight."

"Don't mention it," he said pulling her into an embrace, looping an arm around her waist and placing the other behind her head. She looped her arms under his and lightly gripped his strong shoulders, leaning into his arms. They stayed that way for a moment, then reluctantly released each other.

"I should get going," Yusei said, "Before Jack and Crow come home and find me gone." Vaith nodded. Yusei turned to leave but before he had taken a step Vaith caught hold of his hand. Surprised, Yusei turned to face her again.

"What's wrong?" She looked at the floor, obviously uncomfortable. She gripped his hand a little more tightly.

"Earlier, when you asked me if I was willing to give you a chance, did you mean that you wanted me to…" she trailed off. It was as if she couldn't find the right words, or she had the right words but couldn't bring herself to say them. But as she had earlier with him, he caught her meaning. He placed his free hand under her chin and lifted her face until their eyes met. He lightly squeezed the hand that held his.

"Yes, I was asking if you'd be willing to be my girlfriend," he replied a smile gracing his lips. Almost immediately Vaith's face turned red in a mad blush.

"O-okay. I just wanted to be sure I didn't misunderstand you. I wasn't sure, so I thought I'd ask." He chuckled.

_She's so cute when she blushes_, he thought. Without thinking he softly kissed her lips. When he broke the kiss her face was redder than before.

"Good night," he said planting a soft kiss on her cheek, then pulling away from her.

"Good night," she replied. He gave her hand a final squeeze then unwound his hand from hers and turned and left. He was lost in thought as he made his way back to the parking garage and his runner.

_Well, at least now I know how I feel about her. It didn't happen how I thought it would but I'm not complaining. Looks like Martha was right, as usual. I better keep this from Jack and Crow for a while; otherwise there will be quite a bit of explaining to do._ He arrived in the parking garage and walked to his runner. He mounted it, revved the engine, and headed for home.

Vaith sat on her couch, he face still red. She had never expected Yusei to care for her the way he did, let alone fall for her.

_Oh man, I never saw that coming. But at least now I know why I felt so strange around him. Better keep this from Carly and Clare for a while; otherwise I'd have to tell them about that Friday night._ Yawning, she got up and turned out the light. Then she settled back on the couch for a much needed rest.

**Thank you for taking the time to read this. Hopefully I'll have some time soon to finishing polishing the next chapter and will be able to post it. Thank you all of you who have favorited this story and added me to your favorite authors and author alerts lists. It makes me feel good that people enjoy my writing. Anyway, please leave a review if it is convenient to you. Until next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello guys, I'm back! And earlier than I thought. First thing, I need to make a disclaimer. I, MoonlightLotus18, do not, in any way, promote the act of hacking. It is a crime and punishable by law (You'll understand this disclaimer after reading the chapter). Okay, got that out of the way. Next, I totally made up the approach to hacking mentioned in this chapter. If it is really an approach to hacking in the real world, it is purely a coincidence. Well, that's all the official stuff, at least I think it is. Oh, one more, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5d's (which is really obvious but it's better that I remind people every now and then). The center aligned italics are messages sent over the computer. In my word file they are italicized and in a different font. But when I uploaded this chapter, it changed everything to one font. Anyway, enough of the boring official stuff, on with the chapter! Please enjoy.**

Ch.9- Reminders of the Past

The next afternoon Yusei, Jack, Crow, Leslie, Rally, and the twins were in the garage. The kids had come over after school, as per usual, and Yusei and Crow were helping them with their homework, Jack sat on the couch texting Carly.

The night before Jack and Crow had come back late to find Yusei asleep on the couch and Vaith gone. They told Yusei that morning that they had gone to Carly's where they met up with her and Clare. They told the girls what happened and "Man were they pissed" as Crow put it. They stayed until everyone, namely Crow, calmed down; that's why they came home so late.

"Are you _still_ texting Carly?" Crow asked.

"Is that a crime?"

"No, but you've been doing it nonstop for the past hour. I'd call you a stalker if you weren't her boyfriend." Jack scowled at him and was about to reply when Yusei cut him off.

"Don't start you two, you're not eight years old anymore."

"Sorry Yusei, couldn't help it. Anyway, you need help with that last puzzle Leslie?" Crow asked.

"No, I figured it out."

"Already? I've been trying to figure it out for the last half hour," Leo complained.

"Maybe you should get a tutor, it's certainly helping Leslie," Rally offered. Leo scowled at him.

"It was a suggestion Leo, calm down," his twin interjected on Rally's behalf.

"Yeah, I know. But it's so frustrating, I've tried everything I can think of but nothing's worked."

"Did you try using Cyber Stein's effect?" Leslie asked. Leo looked at her then back at his paper.

"No."

"Try that and see where you wind up." Leo tried for another twenty minutes but still hadn't found the answer. He was so frustrated he was on the verge of tears.

"Please don't tell me it's a DNE puzzle," Leo whined.

"A DNE puzzle? What's that?" Crow asked raising and eyebrow.

"Does Not Exist," Yusei replied, "It's shorthand that often shows up in Calculus."

"Oh."

"No Leo, there's an answer," Rally said, "We just haven't found it yet." He, Leo, and Luna were still working on the puzzle with Crow and Jack helping them, but even they were stuck. Yusei was helping Leslie with her algebra homework.

"Leslie, are you sure you have the right answer?" Crow asked.

"Pretty sure," she replied looking up from her math homework.

"Then there must be something we're missing because we're still stuck."

"I'll help you when I'm done with my math homework."

The twins and Rally worked on their other homework while Leslie finished her math. Jack and Crow kept working on the duel puzzle but made no headway. Crow was beginning to think it was a DNE puzzle.

"What was your teacher thinking giving you a puzzle like this? Jack and I can't even solve it and we've been dueling since we were like five years old," voiced Crow.

"Let me see it," Yusei said. Leslie had just finished her algebra homework and was putting away her textbook and notebook. Yusei scrutinized the puzzle, running card combinations in his head.

"Leslie, how long did it take you to solve this?" he asked looking at her.

"Well, I looked on it a little at school during lunch and then when I got here, so in total about an hour." Yusei nodded then looked back at the paper, read the instructions and hints printed on the page.

_No wonder they're all stumped, this is an expert level puzzle and the average solve time is sixty minutes. It would take me about that long to work through this,_ he thought.

"You find the answer Yusei?" Jack asked, a scowl on his face. Not being able to solve the duel puzzle on his own was a blow to his pride.

"No, it would take me awhile to work through it."

"We're toast," Rally said, "If Yusei can't do it then it's impossible."

"It's not impossible," Leslie said.

"Really, 'cause it certainly looks that way to me." He didn't say it sarcastically, he would never be that mean to Leslie. The two of them had grown up together and she was like a sister to him. Another twenty-five minutes passed as Leslie walked them through the puzzle in the same fashion Vaith had used with her. Finally, they all solved it.

"Man, that was a nightmare," Rally said looking at his completed puzzle.

"Tell me about it," Leo replied, "I think my head's going to explode."

"How on earth did you figure that out Leslie?" Crow asked looking at the puzzle's solution. He wouldn't have come up with that solution if he had worked on the puzzled all day.

"Practice I guess. I'm just use to looking at things from different angles."

"I'll say. I just hope we never get a puzzle that hard again," Leo said.

"I'm with ya on that," Rally agreed with a laugh.

"Anyone down there?" someone called from the door at the top of the ramp. The voice was gruff and masculine; and familiar to everyone in the room.

"Yeah, we've got a few warm bodies down here," Crow replied cheekily. A man in his late thirties early forties came down the ramp. He had tanned skin, short, thick, black hair, brown eyes, and a muscled body. He wore a white button up shirt and black slacks, a jacket slung over his shoulder.

"Hello Trudge, what brings you here?" Yusei asked.

"What? I can't drop by just to say hello?"

"You can, but you never do," Rally retorted. Trudge gave him a look, but he continued. "You work so much that you never have time to just drop by and say hello." Trudge stared at him a moment longer then looked back at Yusei.

"Well, since you know I'm not here to just say hi, I have a favor to ask."

"Oh no. The last time you asked for a favor we nearly got flattened on the highway, so count us out," Crow said defiantly.

"Actually Crow, I wasn't referring to the three of you, just Yusei," Trudge replied. Yusei raised an eyebrow.

"We're not just going to sit here and let you risk Yusei's life either," interrupted Jack. "If you have a problem, you take care of it, that's your job."

"Guys, relax, it's nothing dangerous and nothing Yusei can't handle on his own. Actually, I don't think the two of you would be much help to him anyway," Trudge replied. Jack and Crow looked him perplexed.

"What is it you need from me?" Yusei asked.

"I need you to engage in one of your favorite pastimes from your days growing up in the Satellite."

"You need him to work on your appliances? Just hire a repair man," Crow shouted. Trudge raised an eyebrow, his expression clearly indicating that he hadn't the slightest clue what Crow was talking about. Before Crow could continue Yusei spoke up.

"You're asking me to hack into Sector Security's database?"

"Not the database, a remote server. We're testing a new firewall and protection program. I wouldn't normally ask, but our normal guy is sick and you're the only one who can even come close to their skill level." Hearing that Yusei wouldn't be doing anything dangerous our utterly pointless, Jack and Crow lost their edge and began to relax. He would be in familiar territory.

"Yeah, he's better than all of Sector Security's techies combined," Leo added with a goofy grin. Trudge made a face that clearly showed that he agreed with Leo, though he really didn't want to admit the boy was right.

"What is it you want me to do?"

"Look for holes in the program, anything that could allow someone from the outside to enter the system. We have the program installed on a remote sever so it won't interfere with Security's operations. Your goal is to try and get to the dummy files we've placed behind the firewalls," Trudge explained. "Think you're up for it?"

"Sounds like fun, count me in."

Ten minutes later they were all set up. Yusei sat in front of his computer with two others nearby and read to go. Trudge was behind him with an earpiece and mic connected to Security headquarters. Mina and the techies were on the other end. The others in the garage stood around to watch Yusei work his magic. They all knew that he was an accomplished hacker, but only Rally had ever seen his skills in practice. Trudge directed Yusei to the server.

"This is where you take over and do your thing," Trudge said. "Ready?" Yusei nodded.

"Then let's get this show on the road."

The others watched as Yusei began with a few basic hacking maneuvers, none of which worked.

_Well that's good, they didn't forget about the basics when they wrote this program_, Yusei thought as he took things a little further. Suddenly a dialog box appeared in the corner of the screen,reading: You have a message.

_What the heck? Who could that be?_ Yusei clicked on the box and opened the message. He minimized in the hope that the others wouldn't see it. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough.

"What's that?" Trudge asked.

"A message,"

"From?"

"Don't know, I haven't read it yet." Rally and Leo snickered as did Jack and Crow. Trudge rolled his eyes. Everyone leaned closer so that they could read the message.

_Hello there. They didn't tell me I would have a partner in crime. Probably something they conveniently forgot to mention. So who do I have the pleasure of working with?_

"Yeah, something you conveniently forgot to mention, Trudge," Crow said.

"Why have two hackers?" asked Leo.

"So you can work twice as fast," Leslie replied, "With one you can only work so fast. With two you can accomplish the same amount of work twice as fast; assuming they're working together and are of equal skill."

"That was the plan," Trudge said, "Except the two of you weren't supposed to know about the other. Just don't tell them who you are." Yusei typed a response:

_Just a guy who's good with computers._

While Yusei was waiting for a response Mina contacted Trudge.

"It seems our two hackers know about each other." Trudge turned away from the others before replying.

"Yeah it looks that way."

"Do you know who initiated contact?"

"Your end." Trudge heard Mina sigh.

"She must've done it when I wasn't looking."

"It should be fine as long as they don't tell each other who they are."

"Alright. Let me know if you make any progress." Trudge said he would, then turned back to the others.

"Who were you talking to?" Crow asked.

"Mina, why?" Crow smirked at his response.

"No reason." Just then another message popped up. Yusei opened it and read it.

_How would you like to be addressed 'guy who's good with computers'?_

Yusei thought for a moment, then typed a response.

_Call me CobaltStardragon_

"You can't be serious," Jack commented. "Why not just tell them your name?"

"It's fine Jack, it'll work," Trudge reassured him. Another message came.

_Alright then, CobaltStardragon, are you okay with the BDAW approach?_

"The what approach?" Crow asked.

"BDAW," Yusei replied typing a response.

"What's that?" Rally asked. Yusei's abilities with a computer had always amazed him, though sometimes it seemed like Yusei was speaking a different language when he tried to explain to others what in the world he was doing.

"It stands for Back Doors And Windows. It uses the idea that the system you're trying to hack is like a house. After you check the front door you systematically check the back doors and windows looking for an easy way to get in," Yusei explained. Trudge groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Great, now it's started," he grumbled.

"What?" Yusei asked.

"The tech talk. We didn't want you to know about each other so you couldn't confuse everyone with the tech talk."

"I get it," Crow said, "You guys just didn't want to feel stupid." What Crow didn't say was that he also was completely lost whenever Yusei slipped into the technical language of computers.

"Knock it off Crow," Yusei said sending a reply to his partner in crime.

_Sure BDAW is fine with be. But what should I call you?_

"It figures that the only place Yusei would be comfortable talking to a complete stranger is over the internet," Jack said shaking his head.

_How about SilverOwl?_

Reading the latest message, Yusei couldn't help but smile.

_Alright SilverOwl, let's get down to business._

The two hackers methodically attacked the firewalls, looking for weak points or gaps in the program. Yusei and his hacking partner were booted from the system twice be Sector Security's techies, though they were often slow to realize they were even in the system.

"So these dummy files you mentioned earlier, what exactly is in them?" Yusei asked navigating around the third firewall.

"Nothing sensitive, just public records. They're there to give you a target. The techies filled them with random files from old cases," Trudge replied. "So how was it you so easily got into the system? And give me an answer in plain English." Yusei's lips curled into a small smile.

"You left the back door open," he replied. Trudge looked confused the said something to Mina, no longer paying attention to what Yusei was doing. He was afraid Yusei would start speaking techie language when explaining how he had gotten into the system.

"Trudge, you might want to pay attention to this," Luna said. He turned around and looked at Yusei's computer screen. Two words were printed in the middle of the screen,

_Downloading files…_

"When did you get to the files?"

"Just a few minutes ago," Yusei replied.

"Mina, has our other hacker gotten to the files?" Trudge asked.

"Just now, why?" she replied.

"Yusei's downloading them."

"We should be done over here in a few minutes."

"Alright, see you back at headquarters."

"Alright Trudge."

"Are they finished downloading?" Trudge asked removing the earpiece from his ear.

"Umhm, just finished."

* * *

"Hey, Mina," a voice called from down the hallway. A woman in her late twenties, early thirties with pale skin, golden eyes and aqua colored hair turned around. She was dressed in a slate blue jacket with a white shirt underneath, and a matching skirt and shoes. She also had blue earrings. A man her age came down the hall toward her.

"Hello Kaz," the woman replied.

"Hey, how did our hackers do?" Kaz asked. He had spikey blue hair and light brown eyes. He was dressed in his Security uniform.

"They found about 15 different ways to get in, and several gaps in each firewall," Mina replied.  
"Is the program no good then?"

"No it's fine to use, our hackers had to do some fancy maneuvering to even find the gaps. The techs are going to fill in the gaps just to be safe."

"Did they get to the dummy files?" Kaz asked. His expression was extremely serious.

"Yes, why?" answered Mina. Kaz sighed.

"You need to get over to Trudge." She raised an eyebrow.

"Why? He said he'd meet us back here." Kaz sighed again.

"One of the dummy files," he began, "Was the report for a case Trudge and I worked five years ago. It was a rough case; Trudge took it pretty hard."

"Will he be alright?"

"He'll be depressed for a while, the case really got to him. He's going to need some coffee and someone to talk to," he replied.

"Alright, I'll go find Trudge. Call me if anything happens."

"Sure thing Chief."

* * *

"Hey Trudge, are you alright?" Leo asked. He, Luna, Rally, and Leslie were back at the table packing up their things, getting ready to head home. Trudge was sitting on the couch with his elbows on his knees, his fingers woven together in front of his face, and his eyes closed. He'd just finished going through the dummy files with Yusei when Leo noticed him acting funny.

"I'm fine," he said. He wasn't very convincing.

"You don't look fine," Jack commented.

"Sure you're alright Trudge?" Yusei asked from his spot by the computer.

"Yes, it's nothing."

"You're a terrible liar," Crow added. Just then there was a knock at the door, and it was opened.

"Anyone home?"

"Yeah, we're here Mina," Yusei called. She entered the garage and walked over to the others, a cup of French Roast coffee in her hand.

"Didn't know you were a coffee person," Crow said noting the cup in her hand.

"I'm not," Mina replied, "It's for Trudge." Trudge looked up and took the cup of coffee.

"Thanks Mina."

"So, are you going to tell us what's wrong now?" Crow asked.

"Seriously, it's nothing," Trudge replied.

"You saw the report didn't you?" Mina asked. Trudge looked at her in surprise, the others were confused.

"Report? Like a case report?" asked Rally.

"In the dummy files there was the write up from a case I worked five years ago," Trudge explained. "I assume it was Kaz who told you." Mina nodded.

"He was also the one who suggested that I come down here with a cup of coffee."

"Was the case that bad?" Jack asked. Trudge sighed.

"It was one of the worst ones I've ever worked," he said taking a sip of the coffee.

"A grisly murder of a teenager?" Crow suggested. Trudge shook his head.

"No, I was never part of the homicide unit." He took another sip of coffee.

"Tell us what happened, maybe it'll make you feel better," Mina suggested. The kids put their stuff down and sat at the table, Jack and Crow pulled up chairs on either side of Yusei, Mina sat next to Trudge. Trudge heaved a heavy sigh.

"I had only been on street patrol for a few years when it happened," Trudge said. "Kaz was 24 and just out of the academy, he was my partner at the time." A sip of coffee and another sigh.

"It was five years ago, but it still sticks in my mind."

"It's alright just tell us what happened," Mina said gently patting his arm. He managed a small smile.

"It was raining that night when I got the phone call around ten thirty."

**There you have it guys, chapter 9. I'm still working on chapter 8 of Overcoming the Past so please be patient with me. The next chapter in this story will be told from Trudge's point of view, just a heads up so people aren't completely confused. Alright, that's all for right now. Please R&R.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I'm back guys! I thought I'd post this chapter now while I have the chance. I have about three projects going on at the same time (blarg on my teachers!) so I probably wouldn't get back to it for a while if I didn't post it now. Just a fair warning, there are some hints of violence in this chapter. I don't go into heavy detail, but I thought I'd give you a heads up. Once again this is from Trudge's perspective. I often struggle with writing things in first person so I'm sorry if it isn't great. Trudge might also be a bit OOC, again sorry for that. And Kaz makes an appearence, as does Mina. But anyway, on with the show!**

Ch. 10- The Night the Heavens Wept

We got the phone call around ten thirty, it had been raining all night. Someone had called in sick so I covered his shift that night. The person on the line said they had spotted a suspicious character running through their backyard. They gave me their address and a vague description of the suspect. I hung up the phone and went looking for Kaz. I found him in the break room drinking orange juice, he always was a health nerd.

"Come on Kaz, we have a suspicious character to check out," I said. He downed the last of his orange juice and threw the bottle away.

"Description?"

"Teenager, close to 15, long, light colored hair."

"Where are we headed?"

"Raising Sun."

"A shady character uptown?" Kaz grabbed his jacket and we headed for the car lot.

"Seems that way. It's probably some rebellious, teenage punk with spray paint," I said not even trying to hide my aggravation. We got in the cruiser and headed out. We didn't talk much on the way over. Kaz may have been a rookie cop but he was smart, he'd been my partner long enough to know my moods and when it was best to keep quiet.

To say I wasn't happy would be a severe understatement. I didn't want to be out in the pouring rain looking for some teenage punk at ten thirty at night.

_Why do I always get stuck chasing after the teenage punks? The punks in the Satellite are bad enough, now I have to deal with this,_ I thought. Needless to say those thoughts didn't improve my mood.

We got to Rising Sun Boulevard and got out of the cruiser. We talked to the lady who had made the call and took a look in the backyard. The lady stood inside the house out of the rain. There were footprints in the mud but not enough to follow.

"Do you know which way this person went?" I asked.

"They headed up the street, toward the warehouses I think, the ones on Domino Street," she replied. I nodded to acknowledge that I heard her. I was keen on getting back to the cruiser as soon as possible. Kaz thanked her as we left and headed for the car.

"What now Trudge?" he asked getting in on the passenger side and closing the door.

"We search the area around the warehouses, if we don't find anyone suspicious we call it a night and head back to the station," I replied curtly. He nodded as I drove toward the warehouses.

The warehouses on Domino Street were old and abandoned. They were also a popular hangout for shady characters; I know from experience. There were at least eighteen warehouses that created a labyrinth. We wandered around in that labyrinth for almost two hours and found no one. I had just pulled the cruiser around to head back to the station when Kaz spoke up.

"Hold up Trudge, I think I saw something. Pull up to that warehouse." I pulled up and cut the engine. Then we once again stepped into the downpour.

"What did you see?"

"I think I caught a glimpse of someone with long, light colored hair." We walked up to a narrow alley between two of the warehouses. There were no lights so it was hard to see much of anything, but we both caught a glimpse of light hair going around the corner.

"Hey, stop right there!" The two of us took off after them. We had them in clear view, at least as clear as it could be on a dark, rainy night, after we rounded the corner. Their hair went just passed their shoulders. I had the impression our suspect was female, but I couldn't make out much due to the darkness and rain. They were wearing dark clothing, because all I saw was her hair. She didn't stop, didn't even slow down, she just kept running. Soon she lost us in the maze of streets and alley ways.

"Dammit. We're gonna need help to catch this kid. Do you have your walkie-talkie on you?" Kaz pulled his out of his pocket and handed it to me. I had left mine in the car.

"This is Officer Trudge. Kaz and I are at the warehouse district on Domino Street in pursuit of a suspicious character. Requesting backup to help secure the area."

"Confirming your request for backup. We are dispatching three teams to you present location," came the reply from headquarters.

"Thank you. Over and out."

"Do we wait for them?" Kaz asked as I gave him back his walkie-talkie.

"No, we keep looking for the girl. The others will find us.

We started looking again and caught several glimpses of her hair, but never came close to catching her.

"Dammit, why doesn't she just give up? She's only making things worse for herself. Rotten no-good punk."

"She has to get tired sometime Trudge."

"Yeah, but will we give out before she does?" Both of us were gasping for air, tired of all the running around in the rain.

_If I catch pneumonia because of this kid I'm going to one very disagreeable cop_, I thought as I tried to catch my breath.

"Hey Trudge, Kaz, there you are." We turned around, several officers were running toward us.

"We've been looking all over for you two. We found your cruiser but this place is like a maze."

"Tell me about it. Now, I want all exits to Domino Street covered, we don't want the suspect disappearing into the city. Then I want the others patrolling around in here. The suspect has light colored hair and dark clothing. She's extremely fast so you'll have to move quickly if you want to have a chance of catching her. Everyone clear?"

"Yes sir." Total there were about a dozen officers. Four blocked the entrances to Domino Street and the other eight patrolled the maze of warehouses in pairs. Kaz and I were by ourselves. We kept in touch with the others via walkie-talkie. It was an hour before anyone saw her. One of the other officers saw her resting against one of the warehouses. He tried to sneak up on her and had gotten within thirty feet of her when she noticed him. She immediately took off. The officer followed her and shouted for someone to cut her off. Kaz and I found the alley way he had mentioned but we didn't see the girl. Going down the alley way we only found the other officer.

"Where'd she go?" Kaz asked. The other officer shook his head.

"I don't know. I saw her take off around the corner but when I rounded it she was gone. Though I noticed something strange."

"What's that?" I grumbled.

"When she noticed me she looked terrified, like she'd seen a ghost."

"How is that strange? She's a no-good teenage punk, of course she'd be afraid of being caught by the cops."

"She just seemed more terrified than our usual suspects. I think we have a runaway on our hands Trudge." I thought about the idea and it made sense. If she was a runaway getting caught meant that she would have to go back to wherever she had run away from. I was about to reply when a voice came over the walkie-talkie.

"Suspect spotted in alley between warehouses 8 and 10. Requesting assistance." The three of us took off and eventually ran into two other officers.

"Did you find her?"

"No Trudge. She keeps losing us, it's like she knows where we are and when we're close by."

"Be careful when you approach her. She may be a runaway and we don't want to scare her off."

"Right." Then we split up again, me and Kaz heading north parallel to Domino Street, and the other three heading east toward warehouses 7 and 9. She was spotted twice more but both times managed to disappear. She wasn't seen by anyone else for a while. The other officer was right, it was as if she knew where we were at any given moment.

"She has to tire out soon," I remarked. "She's been running around for an hour and a half."

"Yeah, but while we're running around looking for her she has time to stop and rest," Kaz replied.

"Suspect spotted near warehouse 14." Once again, Kaz and I took off. He was faring better than I was with all the running around. I was a bit out of shape. _I need to cut back on the donuts and coffee_, I thought.

Before we turned the corner near warehouse 14 we heard one of the officers talking to the girl, telling her everything would be okay and we weren't going to hurt her. When we turned the corner we saw the female officer, Shelby I think her name was, slowly approaching the girl. The girl had pale skin and grey eyes. Shelby almost had the girl's hand when the girl spotted me and Kaz.

I don't think I've ever seen someone look so scared in my entire life; it was as if she had seen her worst nightmare come to life. She turned and ran. Shelby seemed startled by her sudden reaction, and turned and looked at us.

"Trudge, Kaz it's just you," she said sounding awfully relieved, as though she had expected a man with an axe was standing behind her.

"Dammit, so close. Why won't she just stay put?" By that time I was extremely aggravated; I was exhausted, drenched to the bone, and tired of chasing this girl through the maze of warehouses.

"Trudge, I think she's afraid of men," Kaz said. It seemed a random thought to me at first, but I hadn't been paying attention to Kaz and Shelby's conversation.

"What? That's ridiculous!"

"Maybe not. She didn't run until she saw you two, so maybe Kaz has a point," Shelby offered. I was too tired and worked up to argue the point, I just wanted to get back to the station.

"Fine, say you two are right and she is afraid of men, what do you propose we do?"

"We let Shelby talk her into coming with us back to the station," Kaz said.

"We have to find her first."

She was found a short while later leaning against one of the warehouses. She was panting heavily and she was completely soaked. The officer who spotted her kept his distance and radioed the rest of us. Kaz, Shelby, and I decided it would be better if only the three of us approached her, the others would block the exits. An officer brought around a cruiser and parked it in a nearby alley way out of sight.

We came within twenty-five feet of the girl when she finally noticed us and stumbled to her feet. The girl was in bad shape, she had to put a hand on the wall to support herself. Her hair was plastered to her face and neck, her clothes clung to her body, and she was noticeably out of breath. When I looked back on it later I felt sorry for the girl and wondered what in the world was so bad that she would run away on such a bad night, but at the time I was pissed off at her for making me run around in the rain for hours.

Shelby stepped forward and moved closer to her. She told her everything would be okay and no one would hurt her, exactly what she had told the girl last time. But this time the girl didn't seem to buy it. She stared at us but said nothing. Shelby kept talking and moved closer, the girl carefully watching her every move. Shelby got within ten feet of her when she tried to run. She took off at an angle, heading for an alley but she must have been in worse shape than I had originally thought. She stumbled once, caught herself, and managed to keep going for another few steps; then she plummeted toward the ground. We all moved when she did hoping to cut her off before she made it too far. I had it set in my mind that I would tackle her if necessary, until she fell. Kaz moved the fastest and caught her before she hit the ground. Surprisingly, she didn't struggle, I guess she was too exhausted.

"She alright?"

"She should be. She's just pushed herself too hard." Kaz picked her up and carried her in his arms to the nearby cruiser and put her in the back seat.

"When you get back to the station find her a towel and something dry to wear, poor girl is freezing," he said to the driver. The driver nodded, then he, his partner, and the girl drove off.

Back at the station we tried to interrogate the girl but she wouldn't say a word. She wouldn't tell us who she was or where she lived. The officers who had brought her back had found some dry clothes and a towel for her. She had the towel draped around her as she stared at the table. I was the first to try and get her to talk but I got fed up with her silence after twenty minutes. It was three thirty in the morning; I had spent a majority of the night out in the rain chasing this girl; I wasn't in the mood for anything. I left her alone in the room while I tried to keep myself from going off the deep end and breaking something, more than likely it would have been a window.

"Find anything out?" Kaz asked as I exited the room.

"Not a damn thing. She isn't talking; all she does is stare at the table. Did you find anything?"

"No, we're still searching the database but we can't figure out who she is or where she came from."

"You try talking to her. You're better with kids than I am and right now I have no patience for anything. I think it's better that you question her before I scare her more than she already is." Kaz nodded and went into the room. I went to the observation room and watched them through the one way glass. Kaz sat down directly across from the girl. She didn't even look up. Kaz sighed.

"I know you're scared," he said, "But we can't help you if you don't talk to us." She didn't respond or show any sign of having heard him; all she did was pull the towel more tightly around her body.

"First, could you look at me?" he asked gently. The girl hesitated for a moment but then slowly lifted her head. She looked like she was somewhere in her early teens, maybe thirteen or fourteen, and was absolutely terrified. She pulled the towel even more tightly around herself. That expression would haunt my sleep for weeks afterward. I've never been too good with kids and I don't know much about children but I knew enough to know a child should never have such a petrified look on their face.

Kaz asked her a series of questions, most of which she didn't answer, though she would nod or shake her head in response to others; she still didn't speak. After a while Kaz said he needed some coffee, he was as tired as I was. He asked her if she wanted anything but she shook her head. He got up and headed for the door.

"Don't make me go back." Both Kaz and I were startled. The girl had been silent so long that we didn't think she would ever actually speak, so we jumped at the sound of her voice. Kaz turned around and looked at her; she was staring at the table again.

"Please," she said her voice weak and shaking, "Don't make me go back. I don't want to go back." She started crying and tightly clutched the towel. "Please, don't make me go back." Kaz walked back to the table and sat down, looking a bit shaken.

"Where is it you don't want to go back to?" he asked as calmly as he could. I could only imagine what was going through his mind.

"H-h-home. I don't want to go back h-home," she managed through her tears. Personally, I was baffled. I thought maybe she had gotten into a heated argument with her parents, but that didn't explain why she was crying and why she was so afraid. It really bothered me to see this girl in such a state, and contrary to what some of you may believe, yes, I do have a heart. Kaz verbalized the question running through my mind.

"Why not?" She didn't answer him.

"Do you live with your parents?" She shook her head.

"My aunt and uncle," she said wiping her tears with the towel. Until that point I had been cranky and irritable, but see that girl terrified and crying hit me like a truck doing seventy on the highway. It occurred to me that I had been wrong about her the entire time we were trying to catch her; she wasn't some punk out to cause trouble, she was a little girl who needed help. And the other officer had been right, she was a runaway.

Kaz finally got her to tell him her name and less than an hour afterward we found out where she lived, the names of her aunt and uncle, her parents' names, all her medical records, and her entire life story. She was thirteen, but already seemed pretty familiar with the court system. She has lost both of her parents by the time she was seven and the court had awarded guardianship to her aunt and uncle. But there was a custody battle. Her father had named another guardian in his will, but the courts thought her aunt and uncle were more fit to take care of the child. From the case reports I could tell it was nasty struggle.

"We should call them and tell them we found her," Shelby suggested as the two of us sat in the break room. We had changed back into our street clothes, as they were dry and our uniforms weren't. I still thought I was going to catch pneumonia.

"Not yet," I countered. "She's made it quite clear she doesn't want to back. She's afraid of going back."

"Of course she's afraid of going back, she's going to get yelled at and get the grounding of her life for sneaking off in the middle of the night."

"It's a lot worse than that," Kaz said entering the break room. He too had changed back into his street clothes, a white button up shirt, and blue jeans. He had been wearing a black jacket when he came in this afternoon, but it was nowhere in sight.

"Why, what did you find out?" I asked.

"Let me show you." He turned back to toward the open door, "It's okay, come on in." The girl slowly and hesitantly entered the room; she was wrapped in Kaz's jacket.

_Oh no, what now? There is no way this is going to be good_, I thought.

"Show them what you showed me," he commanded gently. She looked at him with those terrified eyes. He nodded and she removed the jacket. She wore a sleeveless shirt underneath that was too big for her, something one of the officers who brought her back had found her to wear, and on her arms were several black and purple spots, fresh bruises, and more yellow-green spots indicating old, healing bruises. Shelby and I were speechless.

_Oh my god_, I thought. I felt even worse about having called her a rotten punk. Once again I saw that she wasn't looking to cause trouble, but I had never though she was trying to escape it.

"This is why she's afraid to go home and why we shouldn't call her aunt and uncle just yet," Kaz said putting an arm around the girl. She put the jacket back on and stared at the floor, as if she was ashamed. She clung to Kaz in sheer fright.

"A full scale investigation was launched after that. We found out she'd been abused for the last six years. She had run away in an attempt to escape the violence. She had waited for a dark and rainy night so it would be harder to find her and send her back to her living hell. She was incredibly smart for a thirteen year old. But every time I looked back on it, with the amount of rain that fell that night, it seemed like the sky was weeping. Her aunt and uncle were never indicted in a criminal court, much to my and Kaz's outrage, but they did lose custody of her. After that she went to live with someone who had been a close friend of her father's." Trudge drained the last of the coffee and sighed.

"I've never truly let go of that case. That girl's terrified eyes still haunt me from time to time." Everyone was quiet, collecting their thoughts. Yusei looked pensive, as if he putting together pieces of a puzzle. The twins, Rally, and Leslie were visibly shaken, the girl had been their age after all, Jack wore a scowl on his face, Mina looked sympathetic, Crow looked downright pissed.

"Why weren't they indicted? They abused a child!" he shouted.

"Because they had money, and plenty of it, and reached an agreement with the courts."

"Bastards should be rotting in the Facility," Crow muttered.

"Did you ever find out why they beat their niece?" Luna asked. Trudge shook his head.

"We didn't look for a reason. To us it wasn't the why that was important. We cared more about getting her out of there." Trudge looked at the clock on the wall, it read quarter to seven. He could tell it was going to be a long night for him.

"Leo, Luna grab your stuff, I'll drive you home."

"Rally, Leslie, you two will ride with me," Mina said. The four of them nodded and gathered up their things. They said goodbye to the three older boys and headed outside. Trudge turned to Yusei.

"Thanks for helping us out Yusei," he said.

"No problem."

"And thanks for listening," he said to all three of them. The three of them nodded in reply.

"See you three around." With that he and Mina left the garage. A few minutes later Yusei and the others heard the cars pull away.

**Alright, that's the end of chapter ten. I hope it was up to expectations. Sorry it ended on such a depressing note. I realize the cop stereotype of eating donuts and drinking coffee seems kinda random. It's a joke between me and my older sister that Trudge eats a lot of donuts. I have idea if Kaz was in character, because he was in the anime for a wopping two episodes, which I guess gives me some liberty with his character. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story and/or my other story. You guys are great. It's sad that 5d's is over, but I still haven't watched the episode. I can't find a subbed version of it. But anyway I'd like to know what you think of this chapter so please R&R. Until next time.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello, sorry I've been gone so long. You guys know how it is, school, writer's block, that type of thing. For those of you who are interested, I do plan on continuing my other story **_**Overcoming the Past**_**, I've just had chronic writer's block, but I am making some progress. This chapter of Just Coincidence is a bit long, mostly because of all the dialogue, and it's definitely not one of my better chapters. For that, I apologize. It's also more of a fluff chapter with a lot of card playing and goes a bit fast. Just thought I'd give you a heads up, but now, on with the chapter. And you already know that I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh 5d's.**

Ch.11- Playdate

"Well the incident with Kevin really put a damper on our plan," Carly pouted. Several emotions passed over her face. She was disappointed that their plan to introduce Vaith and Yusei hadn't worked out quite the way they had wanted it to; she was sorry Vaith had been hurt, both physically and emotionally, but most of all she was outraged that Kevin had hurt Vaith.

"Only in the area of introducing them," Clare replied. She and Carly were in the garage with Jack and Crow.

"Actually, I think it's easier this way," Crow said. He was leaning his back against the wall with Clare leaning against his chest and his arms around her. Jack and Carly were on the couch, Jack wrapping an arm around Carly's shoulders. They all gave him a confused look.

"Think about it. It's not as awkward this way. If we had tried to introduce them before, we'd pretty much have to tell Yusei he'd be meeting one of his fangirls, and we all know how Yusei feels about fangirls." Jack chuckled.

"Yeah, he's terrified of them. He spots them and takes off in the other direction. To think that he can face down a five thousand year old evil without a trace of fear, but is terrified of a bunch of girls," Jack said chuckling more.

"I don't blame him, those girls are absolutely crazy," Carly said. "But Vaith isn't a fangirl. She just likes the way he duels, using his head instead of relying only on powerful monsters."

"And she is totally infatuated with his Stardust Dragon," Clare added, "I don't know how many pictures of it she's drawn."

"Speaking of Stardust Dragon, how did you two convince his owner to leave the garage?" Clare asked.

"We didn't," Jack said, "He left on his own sometime this morning." The two girls gave him a perplexed look.

"Recently Yusei's been spending a little more time above ground. He still mostly just visits Martha, the twins, and the auto part store, but at least he's not in the garage 24/7," Crow explained.

"When did he start doing that?" Clare asked.

"A few weeks ago, after the gala. At first we thought he was doing it to get me and Jack to stop buggin' him and that he would only do it sporadically, but it seems like every other day he's gone for at least a few hours," Crow answered holding Clare.

"He leaves a note, but never specifically says where he's going. He just says he'll be out for a while and when we can expect him back," Jack added.

"Then how do you know he's going to Martha's or the twins'?" Carly asked looking up at Jack, her reporter instincts kicking in.

"We just figure that's where he's gone. It is Yusei we're talking about, where else would he go?"

"Well, you mentioned before that he's had some girl on his mind. Maybe he's secretly seeing someone," Carly said. Jack and Crow thought about the idea for a moment then looked at each other. The two males proceeded to burst into hysterical laughter.

"What's so funny?" Carly's question went unanswered for a few minutes as Jack and Crow couldn't stop laughing. But eventually the laughter died down to quiet chuckles.

"Yusei secretly seeing someone is what's so funny," Jack answered pulling her close. She stared blankly at him.

"You see Carly, Yusei wouldn't be able to hide something like that; man's too honest, which makes him a terrible liar," he replied.

"Exactly, he'd give himself away one way or another. Besides, he always comes home exactly when he says he will, sometimes even a little early. If he was seeing someone he'd forget from time to time when he was supposed to come home," Crow elaborated.

"Okay, fair point."

"So how do we go about getting our two favorite single people together?" voiced Clare.

"Well, is Vaith busy tomorrow?" Crow asked.

"No, tomorrow is her day off," Clare replied.

"Then ask her if she wants to come over," Jack said, "Assuming Yusei isn't busy."

* * *

Yusei returned shortly before three that afternoon. The two couples were sitting at the table playing a game of Bullshit when he parked his runner.

"Hello Carly, Clare," he said pulling off his helmet and setting it on his runner.

"Hello," they replied.

"Hey Yusei, you got a minute?" Crow asked looking up from the game, which he was currently winning.

"Yeah, what's up? Something wrong?"

"No nothing's wrong, we just wanted to know if you had plans for tomorrow." Yusei thought for a moment before replying.

"No I don't think so. Why do you ask?"

"Because we wanted to bring Vaith over. Since you met her under abnormal circumstances we thought you'd like to see what she's like most of the time," Clare answered laying down two cards.

"Two eights," she said.

"Though I could probably guess what she's like from the way you guys talk about her, I don't see why not, so long as she's not busy."

"It's her day off tomorrow so it shouldn't be a problem," Carly said. Jack laid down three cards.

"Three nines," he said. At that point the pile was fairly large and no one wanted to challenge Jack for fear of having to pick it up. Yusei got a bottle of water out of the fridge and stood off to the side watching the others play.

"One ten," Crow said. He was down to his last four cards and the pile just kept getting bigger.

"One Jack," Carly said giggling. Jack was about to call Bullshit, but thought better of it. Clare went next.

"Two Queens." The others looked at their remaining cards and decided she was probably telling the truth.

"One King," Jack said with a smirk. He went unchallenged that round because the others knew him well enough to know what that smirk meant. Yusei quietly observed them, carefully watching all their faces, except Jack's. Jack's back was to him.

"Two Aces," Crow said laying down his cards, leaving him with two. The pile had to be at least 25 cards deep. Crow could practically smell victory. If everything went according to plan he would win on his next turn.

"One two," Carly said. The others checked their cards but said nothing.

"Two Threes," Clare said.

"Four fours."

"Two fives." Crow was now out of cards. If someone called Bullshit, he'd win; if Carly played a card he'd win.

"Bullshit," Jack said. Crow smirked.

"Take the pile Jack," he replied. Jack flipped the top two cards. There on top of the pile were, in fact, two fives.

"Dammit," Jack growled. "Crow wins."

"As usual," Crow said proudly. He began shuffling for a new game.

"Do you want to play Yusei?" Clare asked looking over at him. He pondered the question for a moment before answering.

"Sure, I don't see why not." He pulled up a chair and sat down. Crow stopped shuffling, stood up and started backing away, nearly knocking over his chair.

"Whoa, who are you and what have you done with Yusei?"

"What's wrong?" Clare asked.

"That's not Yusei," Crow protested. The girls fixed him with a funny look.

"Of course it is," Carly said.

"No it's not," he insisted, "Yusei never wants to play Bullshit."

"I agree with Crow, something's off. Yusei always hated the game when we were kids," Jack added while giving Yusei a suspicious look. Yusei met his gaze but remained silent.

"Where did I get my duel runner?" Jack asked.

"From me," he replied taking a drink of water. "I built it from scrap parts we found around the Satellite. Then you took it and my Stardust Dragon and came to the city. You eventually remodeled it into what it is now." Yusei never once looked away from Jack.

"Alright, I believe you," Jack conceded, "But why do you want to play Bullshit all of a sudden? You hated the game when we were kids. You always lost no matter how hard you tried."

"You always lost to me," Crow added with a grin. Yusei shrugged, no one noticed the small smirk on his face.

"I haven't played since we were kids so I want to see if I've gotten any better," he replied.

"You couldn't get much worse," Crow retorted.

"Was he that bad?" Carly asked.

"He was absolutely terrible," Crow replied.

"Deal the cards Crow," Clare said.

* * *

"NO WAY!" Crow screamed. They had been playing for a while and Crow, Carly, and Yusei each had less than five cards; Clare had about fifteen; Jack somewhere around ten; the rest were in the pile. Jack had played four threes, Carly two fours, and Yusei three fives. The pile was at least twenty cards deep and it was Crow's turn. He wasn't too worried though, no one had figured out his tell and he had a great poker face.

"Two sixes."

"BS." Crow looked up in confusion.

"What?" He looked at the others, who in turn were all staring at Yusei. His face bore its signature stoic expression.

"I call Bullshit," he replied calmly. Crow was dumbfounded and didn't move. Jack flipped over the top two cards and found Crow was indeed bullshitting.

"Pick 'em up Crow," Jack said. Crow complied, although reluctantly. He grumbled to himself but otherwise remained silent.

_Yusei just got lucky_, he thought._ Though I have to admit he's gotten much better at this game, he's not so easy to read anymore. And now he cost me the game; there goes my 563 game win streak._

While Crow was busy with his thoughts, Clare had played two sevens; Yusei played his last card.

"One eight," he said, his face not even so much as twitching.

"Bullshit," Crow replied. As he had found out through the course of the game, Crow was no longer certain of when Yusei was lying and this occasion was no exception. But it was an unwritten rule to call Bullshit when a player emptied their hand.

Yusei flipped over the top card to reveal the eight of spades. Crow instantly paled.

"NO WAY!"

"Yes way," Yusei replied with a smirk forming on his lips.

"I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it myself," Jack said in wonder.

"Nice job Yusei, you win," Carly said.

"This isn't possible," Crow said.

"What are you talking about?" Clare asked.

"I just lost a game of Bullshit, nevermind that my 563 game winning streak is broken, I just lost a game of Bullshit…to Yusei." He looked up at the blue-eyed youth in disbelief, who was throwing away his water bottle acting as if nothing had happened.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," Clare replied.

"It is, at least for Crow, no offense Yusei," added Jack.

"None taken," he replied meeting Crow's gaze.

"How did you know?" Crow asked.

"Lucky guess," Yusei said with a shrug but Crow saw the glint in his eye.

"No it wasn't. Bullshit it was a lucky guess. I of all people know that you don't guess unless you have no other options. I demand a rematch!"

"Why is this such a big deal?" Clare asked.

"Like I said before, Yusei's never won a game of Bullshit against Crow, until just now," Jack replied. "He's too honest, too easy to read, or least he was when we were kids."

_If they only knew_, Yusei thought.

* * *

"Are you sure this is okay?" Vaith asked as she, Carly, and Clare walked to the guys' garage. "I don't want to be a bother."

"It's alright," Clare replied with a smile, "We asked them about it yesterday."

"There wouldn't be some ulterior motive to this visit would there?" Vaith asked half joking.

"O-of c-c-course not," Carly replied trying to cover up her anxiety.

_Man, she hit the nail right on the head. You'd almost think she had the ability to read minds_, Carly thought as she knocked on the door.

"It's open," a voice called from inside. Carly opened the door and entered, Clare and Vaith behind her.

"Guys it's us," she said as they came through the door.

"Hi girls," Crow replied from his spot by the computers. "Vaith, by the way, love the jacket." She had on her usual outfit except she didn't wear her black turtle-neck. Instead she wore a white jacket over her lotus emblazoned tank top.

"Thanks Crow," she replied with a gentle smile.

"Don't mention it," he said getting up and hugging Clare. "You smell like oranges."

"New shampoo," she replied hugging him back.

"Where are Jack and Yusei?" Carly asked looking around the garage for them.

"Yusei's upstairs and I think Jack went to the store to pick up some more coffee. I swear that man has a caffeine addiction," Crow replied.

"Jack, no," Clare replied jokingly and they all laughed.

"Did I miss something?" Crow and the girls turned to see Yusei coming down the stairs in his usual outfit minus his jacket and gloves.

"Nothing much, just making fun of Jack's caffeine addiction," Crow said kissing Clare's cheek.

"Ah."

"Hey Yusei," Carly said, "Would you be up to another game of Bullshit once Jack gets back?"

"He's playing whether he wants to or not. He still owes me a rematch," Crow said.

"You're not going to let it go are you?" Yusei asked leaning against the wall, a smile playing at his lips.

"Not a chance." Yusei shook his head, Crow could be so single minded sometimes. Then he noticed Vaith, who had taken a seat at the table and was listening to Carly recount Yusei's victory over Crow the day before.

"You're wearing a jacket," he said and immediately felt stupid. It was just a passing thought, not something he intended to say out loud. But Vaith took it in stride.

"Yeah, it makes changing the bandages on my arm easier," she replied, her face going slightly pink. Carly and Clare giggled; things were going smoothly so far.

"Should I ask or not?" Jack had just come back from the store, a bag in one hand and a coffee cup in the other.

"It's nothing," Yusei replied.

"Yeah, Yusei's just demonstrating his social ineptitude. Anyway, what's in the bag, I thought you went out for coffee," Crow inquired.

"That was my intention, but Yusei told me were out of milk and eggs," Jack grumbled. A few minutes later the six of them were seated around the table and were ready to start the game. After putting away the milk and eggs, Jack had given Carly a hello hug, pulled out the cards, and shuffled the deck. He didn't trust Crow shuffling the deck with him hell bent on repaying Yusei for his defeat the day before. Jack shuffled the deck four times before dealing the cards.

"Who has the two of spades?" Crow asked.

"I do," Jack said. "Two twos." He placed two cards face down in the center of the table. Then it was Yusei's turn.

"One three." Crow had a hunch Yusei was lying but let it go; the pile was only three cards deep.

_Better to wait until the pile's bigger, then I can repay him in full for what happened yesterday_, he thought. Clare was next to play.

"Two fours." She placed the cards face down with the others.

"Three fives," Carly said laying down her cards.

"Two sixes," Vaith followed.

"Three sevens," Crow said calmly. No one challenged him. Jack played two eights and Yusei two nines. Crow wanted to make Yusei pick up the pile, be he wasn't sure if he was lying or not.

_Dammit Yusei that stone face of yours is make things difficult. When did you become so good at hiding your thoughts?_ Crow thought. In the end he decided not to risk it, and said nothing.

"One ten," Clare said playing her card. Crow glanced at Yusei but there wasn't even the slightest twitch in his expression.

"One Jack," Carly said. The others searched their hands but couldn't find solid evidence that she was lying.

"Two Queens," Vaith declared.

_Crap_, Crow thought,_ I have no Kings. Hopefully someone calls Bullshit on Vaith instead of me._ But no one said anything.

_So much for luck. Oh well, I'll just have to trip them up._

"Two Kings for your two Queens," he said confidently. There was a moment of silence and Crow thought he was home free. But his relief was short lived.

"BS," Yusei and Vaith said simultaneously. Carly and Clare laughed and Jack smirked at Yusei and Vaith's display of similar thinking. It looked like their plan was running smoothly. "Damn," Crow muttered as he picked up the pile.

"You're having some rotten luck with this game lately," Jack said smirking.

"Shut up," Crow replied. _So he does know my tell, and so does Vaith apparently. I've got no chance of winning this one_, Crow sulkily.

"One Ace," Jack said. Yusei followed with one two. The girls played one cared each, bringing it back to Crow.

"Four sixes," he said. They went once more around the table, but Crow forced Jack to pick up the pile; Crow had all the Kings. Yusei played his two Aces leaving him with one card left. The girls once again played one card each, with Vaith playing her last card.

_That's the game_, Yusei thought with a smirk. _But Crow's going to abide by that unwritten rule in an effort to make a comeback. Poor Crow._

"Bullshit," Crow said. Vaith flipped the card to reveal a four.

"Dammit, I lost again," Crow sighed.

"Well this time you didn't lose to Yusei," Clare said in an attempt to cheer him up.

"No, but he and Vaith set me up to lose." Crow then turned to Yusei. "You do know what my tell is." Yusei shrugged.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't," he replied, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"There's no maybe about it, you know. You purposely waited for the pile to grow and at the first available opportunity you called Bullshit," Crow said sounding defeated.

"No one's ever figured out my tell before, hell I don't even know what it is. But how'd you do it Yusei?"

"I paid attention while you guys were playing yesterday."

"You caught on to his tell after watching part of one game?" Jack asked incredulously. Yusei chuckled and shook his head.

"No, it wasn't that obvious. As I was watching you guys I came up with a list of possible tells. Then when I played a round I watched Crow out of the corner of my eye. I figured out his tell when I knew he was lying. When he played Aces I knew he was lying because I had already put all the Aces in the pile. So when he played sixes on his next turn I saw that he was lying and called him on it."

"Only you would do all of that to figure out someone's tell," Crow said shaking his head. "Alright, I'll admit it, you've gotten better at this game, a lot better."

"He couldn't have gotten much worse," Jack added with a chuckle. Crow joined in but abruptly stopped.

"Wait a minute, Vaith I have a question," he said.

"Yes?" she said looking at him.

"You and Yusei called Bullshit on me at the same time, how did _you_ know I was lying?" The others looked at Vaith, except Yusei. He got up and poured himself a glass of milk.

"Don't tell me you did the same thing Yusei did," Jack said. Vaith shook her head.

"Not exactly. I just have a knack for noticing things that other people miss, so I was able to pick up on when Crow was lying."

"So you know Crow's tell too?" Carly asked.

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't. I'd have to ask Yusei about that one," she replied. Yusei smiled to himself, no one could see since he was facing the other way.

_Knowing you Vaith, you probably figured it out or you're at least on the right track_, he thought.

They continued to play cards for the next few hours, playing a few hands of Texas Hold 'em, five card poker, a game of Kemps and ERS. They were in the middle of a game of Kemps when there was a knock on the garage door.

"Are you guys home?" a voice called.

"Yeah, we're here. The door's open," Crow replied. The twins, Rally, and Leslie came through the door at the top of the ramp.

"Hi guys," Leo said in his usual energetic manner. Vaith, Carly, Clare, Crow and Yusei looked up from the game and waved, Jack just nodded. The girls were on one side of the table, the boys on the other. They failed to register that Vaith was there.

"What are you guys doing?" Leo asked coming down the ramp with the others in tow. They walked up to the table to get a closer look.

"We're playing a game called Kemps," Crow explained, "Vaith just taught it to us." The younger kids looked up and took notice of Vaith.

"Hi guys," she greeted with a smile. They all replied in kind, Leslie a bit more enthusiastically than the others.

"So how do you play this game," Rally asked looking at the set up. Carly, Clare, Vaith, Yusei, Crow, and Jack each held four cards in their hands. The deck was set in the middle of the table and four cards were face up next to it.

"Well, it's a game you play with a partner," Vaith began. "First everyone is dealt four cards. Then you flip over the first four cards of the deck. The object of the game is to get four of a kind so you switch out cards in your hand for the cards on the table. Once everyone has made the switches they want, the four cards on the table are declared 'dead' and you move them to the side and flip four new ones. When someone gets four of a kind they give a signal to their partner, who then says 'Kemps' and they win that round and get a letter."

"Get a letter?" Luna asked.

"For each round your team wins you get a letter, first a K, then an E, M, P, S until you spell out Kemps. The first team to spell out Kemps wins the game," Vaith explained.

"That sounds really complicated," Leo said scratching the back of his head.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Crow said. "You catch on pretty quick once you start playing."

"So who's on teams?" Leslie asked.

"It's me and Jack, Crow and Clare, and Yusei and Vaith. Right now Yusei and Vaith are winning with K-E-M. Crow and Clare have K-E, and Jack and I have just K," Carly replied. Leslie giggled at Yusei and Vaith being on the same team; somehow she thought the others did it deliberately.

"Can we watch you guys play?" Leo asked.

"As long as your homework is done," Crow said.

"It is," Rally said. Crow arched an eyebrow.

"All of it?"

"Yeah, one of our teachers was out today so that period was a study hall."

"Alright then, pull up a chair." Leslie pulled up a chair and sat next to Vaith, Luna sat next to Leslie. Rally sat next to Yusei and Leo next to him.

"Hey I just noticed, all the girls are on one side of the table and all the guys on the other. What the heck?" Leo asked.

"You have to sit across from your partner, that's why we're all sitting like this," Vaith said. "You guys ready to pick up where we left off?" The other players nodded and they resumed the game. As the four thirteen year olds watched they found out that the game was actually a lot simpler than it sounded. An hour and a half later the game was over.

"Wow, that was a nice attempt at a comeback by Jack and Carly," Leslie said.

"We would have won if Yusei wasn't pay attention to what cards I was picking up," Jack complained.

"It's part of the game Jack," the blue-eyed duelist replied.

"It's too bad for you that Yusei and Vaith work so well together," Rally added.

"Yeah, it's like the two of you can read each other's minds," Crow commented.

"We were both just paying attention," Yusei replied. Crow smirked, but he would take time to embarrass Yusei later. Yusei looked at the clock on the wall.

"Vaith, I think now would be a good time to change the bandages on your arm," he said. She looked at the clock before responding.

"Alright, but I'm going to need some help."

"I'll help you. The bandages are upstairs." She got up from the table and followed Yusei up the stairs. Jack and Crow started snickering.

"Don't do anything inappropriate Yusei," Crow called after them still snickering. He could almost picture Yusei's shocked and flustered face.

"Crow, I think it would be a good idea to get your mind out of the gutter before it is forcefully removed," came Yusei's reply. Crow and Jack just laughed harder.

"Boys," Clare remarked shaking her head, "Always have the impulsive need to make innuendos."

* * *

"How did you do this by yourself?" Yusei asked removing the bandages from Vaith's arm. Her white jacket hung over the back of the chair she was sitting in. Yusei sat right in front of her.

"Very slowly," she replied. "I had to tape one of the ends down then wrap the bandages around my arm." Yusei shook his head, chuckling. He then cleaned the cuts and wrapped a new bandage around her arm.

"You know," he said placing a hand on her cheek, "It wouldn't kill you to ask for help."

"I know, but it was something small and I didn't want to bother anyone." Yusei shook his head again then gently kissed her lips. She returned the kiss and placed her hand over the hand he had on her cheek.

"I've been waiting all day to do that," he said once they broke the kiss, a smile on his face.

"I know, I have too."

"Well, in that case." He kissed her again placing his free hand on her other cheek. The second kiss lasted longer than the first, both of them reluctant to end it. But it had to end eventually. After breaking the kiss Yusei pulled Vaith to her feet and pulled her against him in a warm embrace which she happily returned. One arm was wrapped around her waist, the other was playing with her hair; her arms looped under his and held his shoulders as she leaned into him.

"Vaith," he said after a while.

"Hm?"

"Do you get the feeling that the others are up to something, that there was some other motive to this little playdate?" he asked looking at her, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Yeah, I do. On our way here I asked Carly and Clare if there was some hidden motive and Carly seemed to get a little nervous. I didn't press the matter, but yeah, I think they're planning something," she replied meeting his gaze.

"Then it seems we're ahead of the game," he said with a wink.

* * *

"I think things are going according to plan," Crow whispered to Jack, a smirk on his face.

"It definitely seems that way," Jack replied. "We'll talk to him about it later; see what he thinks of her."

"Dang it," Leo shouted, bringing Jack and Crow back from their conversation.

"What's wrong Leo?" Crow asked walking over to the four thirteen year olds playing poker with Carly and Clare.

"I only have a flush," he pouted putting his hand down on the table. The two older girls stared wide eyed at his hand, as did Rally; Luna face palmed, Leslie started giggling, and Crow started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Leo asked, genuinely confused.

"You just won little buddy," Crow replied.

"Huh?"

"You have a flush of hearts right?" Crow said pointing to Leo's cards. Leo nodded. "Well Rally only has two pair, tens and sixes. A flush beats two pair, so you beat Rally this hand. Now, Carly has a pair of Aces. Two pair beats a pair, so your flush beats both Rally and Carly. Leslie is only King high so you beat her, and Luna has two pair, Jacks and Kings. Finally, Clare has a straight, 3 to 7, and a flush beats a straight. So you just beat everyone." Leo looked at his hand then at everyone else's.

"I won?"

"Yup," Crow replied.

"Yes!"

"Too bad you can't pull off something like that in a duel," Jack remarked.

"I can to!"

"Cannot."

"Can to!"

"Jack, knock it off. You're six years older than Leo yet you act like you're three years younger than him," Yusei said coming down the stairs with Vaith right behind him. Jack didn't dignify Yusei's comment with a response.

"Leo, it's time to start heading home," Luna said after looking at the clock.

"Aww, but Luna," he whined.

"No buts Leo. You still need to finish your deck for Saturday." Leo sighed in defeat.

"Fine."

"What's on Saturday?" Carly asked.

"A tournament at school," Leslie replied. "I still need to put the finishing touches on my own deck, so I'll be going too."

"I have to go too," Rally said looking at his cell phone. "Blitz, Tank, and Nervin don't want me out too late."

"Alright, you four be careful on your way home," Yusei said sitting on the couch with his laptop.

"I'll walk with you Leslie," Vaith offered.

"Thanks," she replied.

"I'll see you guys later then," Vaith said to the others. "It was nice to just hang out with you guys."

"It's something we should do more often," Crow said. "You and Yusei could use the relaxation."

"We'll see," she said smiling. "Later." She and Leslie left the garage with the twins and Rally after they said their goodbyes.

"Will you two be heading home?" Crow asked the two remaining girls.

"Yeah, I've got an article I have to finish," Carly replied hugging Jack and kissing his cheek. "I'll call you later."

"Just don't push yourself too hard," he said in that offhand but tender way of his.

"I'll try not to," she replied. He hugged her again and kissed her forehead.

"I'll see you later Crow," Clare said kissing his cheek. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips.

"Be careful."

"I will."

"Later Yusei," the two girls said as they headed out. Yusei looked up from his laptop and waved. The two of them closed the door as they left, leaving the three boys by themselves.

"That was fun," Crow said sinking into a chair at the table. Jack took a seat by the computers; both he and Crow sat facing Yusei.

"So Yusei how did it feel to do nothing all day but play cards?" Crow asked.

"It was a definite change of pace," he calmly replied. He had a feeling that they would eventually start asking his thoughts on Vaith.

"Is it that difficult for you to say you had fun?" Jack asked while giving Yusei an impatient look. Noticing Jack's expression, Yusei sighed.

"Yes I had fun, and Vaith is fun to be around," he admitted. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"Anything else you'd like to tell us?" Crow asked slyly. Yusei opened one cobalt eye and looked at his friend across the room.

"Like what?" he asked playing along.

"I don't know, maybe what you think of Vaith." Yusei sighed again and closed his eye.

"You guys are trying to hook me up with her aren't you?"

"Why would we do that?" Jack asked, trying to feign innocence. It wasn't working.

"Because you told me you wouldn't quit trying to get me a girlfriend until I was no longer single," Yusei replied.

_Shit_, they thought at the same time.

_Damn, Yusei's on to us_, Jack thought._ Not that we've been very discreet about it. We've only been bugging him for the past few months about getting a girlfriend._

"I'll take your silence and shocked expressions as confirmation that you two _are_ trying to hook me up with Vaith," Yusei said opening his eyes and looking at his best friends. It was Crow who recovered first.

"No we're not," he lied, "We just want to know what you think of her now that you've met her under normal circumstances." Yusei didn't buy one word of what he said but decided to humor them. They wouldn't stop bugging him otherwise.

"She's definitely different than most girls; she has a different way of looking at things. She also treats me like a normal person," he said staring off into space. Vaith's smiling face filled his field of vision and her open, genuinely happy laughter filled his ears. It took a lot of effort not to start smiling.

"Well by the looks of it, she's definitely caught your eye," Jack said with a smirk.

"I guess you could say that," Yusei replied. "She's not someone you forget very easily."

**There you have it guys. I'm sorry if anyone was offended by the boys and innuendos comment, but I had to have one of the girls say something. And in case you don't know what ERS stands for, it is Egyptian Rat Skrew (I have no idea if I spelled that right). It's a game I play with my friends at school. The next chapter is the tournament so it's going to be a bit difficult to write with all the duels, but I'll find a way to do it in an organized fashion. As always please R&R and I'll hopefully get the next chapter up in a timely manner.**


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